Junta disbands Suu Kyi party before elections
The political party of Aung San Suu Kyi, the imprisoned Myanmar democracy leader, has been dissolved by the ruling junta as it prepares for elections that are already being rigged in its favour.
The National League for Democracy (NLD) was one of 50 political parties dissolved by the country’s electoral commission, according to reports in the military-controlled media.
The order was made because the parties had failed to meet a deadline to reregister in advance of the planned elections, which have been denounced internationally as a fraudulent attempt to legitimise the junta’s seizure of power in a coup two years ago.
Suu Kyi, 77, is serving a 33-year prison sentence for convictions that her supporters insist were trumped up to keep her out of politics. She commanded overwhelming public support before being forced from power.
This week spokesmen for the NLD repeated a message that was issued two years ago through her lawyers that the junta does not have the authority to dissolve the party. ‘‘Since the NLD was founded for the people,’’ she said at the time, ‘‘the NLD will exist as long as the people exist.’’
The coup in February 2021 initially led to peaceful demonstrations, but these have given way to a bitter but inconclusive conflict between the army and resistance fighters of the People’s Defence Force (PDF). The latter fights in the name of the national unity government, a shadow government of deposed democratic politicians including members of Suu Kyi’s party.
According to independent observers 3200 opponents of the government have been killed and more than 17,000 are in detention. No date has been set for the election. PDF units are said to have killed local officials and police in an effort to disrupt it. Myanmar’s constitution, which was drawn up by a previous junta, guarantees 25% of seats in parliament to nominees of the armed forces.
Before the coup, even this was not enough to secure victory for the military-backed Union Solidarity and Development Party. Now the junta has changed the election system to proportional representation, so that even with just over a quarter of votes cast its proxies will have a parliamentary majority.
The law on political parties has also been changed to restrict those able to stand. To take part in the election parties must have at least 100,000 members, compared with 1000 under the old law, and contest at least half of all constituencies.