Forty political parties were dissolved on Tuesday, including the National League for Democracy (NLD), the ousted ruling party of former Myanmar leader Aung San Suu-ki.
These parties did not register within the stipulated time limit for the general elections being held to maintain the political dominance of the military.
Earlier in January, Myanmar’s military gave political parties two months to register under the new electoral law ahead of the upcoming election. However, those opposed to military rule say the elections will be neither free nor fair.
At the same time, Su-Ki’s party NLD has announced not to contest the election. The NDL has declared the election illegal. A party leader said that we do not accept this election at all, when many political leaders and political workers have been arrested. The public is being harassed by the army, the leader said.
The NLD won the parliamentary elections of Myanmar held in November 2020. But less than three months later, Aung San Suu Kyi was imprisoned by the Myanmar military in a coup. Myanmar’s military justified the coup, saying there was widespread fraud in the election. However, no major irregularities were found by independent election observers.
The NLD is among dozens of parties that have held parliamentary seats in the past decade. These parties have been severely weakened by the military’s 2021 coup and crackdown on their opponents. Many parties are unable or unwilling to contest elections. Critics have termed the upcoming general elections as a farce. Many leaders of his party, including Suu Kyi, are currently in jail.
At the same time, after the dissolution of Su-Ki’s party, the United Nations has called for the restoration of democracy in Myanmar. Stéphane Dujarric, a spokesman for UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, also called on Myanmar’s military rulers to release Aung San Suu Kyi. Expressing concern over the dissolution of the NLD, he said, “I think this is another step against the restoration of democracy.”
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