"What does the future hold for Myanmar's NationalLeague for Democracy after the party was dissolved by the country's militaryjunta? DW takes a look"

Deutsche Welle

Published: March 31, 2023 9:44 PM | Last updated: March31, 2023 9:46 PM

Myanmar's ousted democracy partyhas vowed to fight on after the military government dissolved the party anddozens of others.

Aung San Suu Kyi's NationalLeague for Democracy (NLD) failed to meet a registration deadline of March 28ahead of a promised election.

Suu Kyi, 77, is currently servinga 33-year prison term after facing a variety of charges imposed by themilitary.

Her supporters say the chargeswere contrived to prevent her from participating in politics, but thepro-democracy party has vowed to continue, mobilizing its supporters and hopingfor a future change in circumstance. 

Strict new electoral law

Myanmar's new Political PartyRegistration Law which came into force in January 2023 makes it difficult forpolitical parties to stand for election and oppose junta control. 

Parties are now obliged torecruit 100,000 members within three months of registration 100 times higherthan the previous requirement.

And those looking to run forelection must also open offices in at least half of Myanmar's 330 townships andcontest at least half of all constituencies. They must also prove they holdfunds of €43,800.

Some 63 parties enrolled underthe new law, while 40 failed to register, according to an announcement bystate-run media.

'Free and fair' elections

 Myanmar politician Bo Bo Oo, who's a member of the NLD,dismissed the junta's tough registration law.

"In our view, since thecoup, the (State Administrative Council) did get the power illegally. Then itseffort on forming new (Union Election Commission) and making a new PartyRegistration Law are also illegal. We don't recognize the SAC's illegal writtenlaw."

The military has promised"free and fair" elections since the coup but with conflict continuingthroughout the country, the junta extended Myanmar's state of emergency by afurther six months in February, leaving no set date for new polls.

Currently, the clear favourite towin any upcoming poll is Myanmar's military-backed Union Solidarity andDevelopment Party (USDP), the political party that was hammered in the lastelections.

But military opposition andWestern politicians have said elections under these conditions would be a sham.

Aung Thu Nyein, a politicalanalyst from Myanmar, said the registration law was created to favour certainpolitical parties.

"(The) 2022 Political PartyLaw is the most restrictive and creating a distorted play filed for a politicalparty. The law is made to decide who will the winner and losers in the nextelections, which will not be conducive to a liberal democracy."

Germany condemns dissolutionof NLD

 In a press release, the GermanForeign Ministry slammed the junta's decision to dissolve the pro-democracyparty.

"We condemn the actions ofthe junta, which is acting without any basis in democracy or rule of law. Withthe dissolution of the parties, there is now a risk of a further escalation ofviolence in Myanmar and an accelerated destabilization of the country,"the statement read.

"We call on the military inMyanmar to immediately end the violence, particularly the attacks on civiliansand the brutal repression against the opposition, and to release all politicalprisoners."

What are the NLD's origins?

The National League for Democracyemerged from Myanmar's 1988 democracy uprising against military rule. It wasled by Aung San Suu Kyi and won Myanmar's general elections in 2015 and 2020.

Following the 2020 victory, themilitary made unsubstantiated claims of electoral fraud.

In February 2021, the militaryremoved the ruling government and installed its officials as a"temporary" administration, with General Min Aung Hlaing takingcharge.

The NLD has since lackeddirection, Aung Thu Nyein said.

"The party leadership lacksleadership and proper guidance to its voters and general population, it isunderstandable, many of its top leaders are in prison, and many have fled tothe border, but the NLD leadership fails to make a strategic decision, inregards of this critical juncture," he added.

Uncertain future

But the democratic party have hadit tough. Despite being winning two elections, Myanmar's military has hinted atcracking down at its operations and some 1,235 NLD members have already beenarrested by the military.

But perhaps even more alarming isthat 26 arrestees have died during prison interrogations. Another 64 memberswere killed, according to NLD data.

With pressure mounting, questionsremain about whether the party can continue to function under military control.

However, the National League forDemocracy remains defiant, its members say.

"Since the coup our officeshave been closed and we have been connecting through other ways," said NLDpolitician Kyaw Htwe.

Bo Bo Oo added that his partycontinues its dialogue both on local and international levels.

"From central level to thegrassroots, despite the executives [who] were hunted by the junta, we conveneregular meetings and run the party mechanism well. We are seeking and demandfor the political prisoner's release and we continuously try hard to end thedictatorship and embark [a] Federal Democratic State. We open our dialogue gatefor the Asean Five Point Consensus, and [make it] clear to the world ourspeaker is Daw Aung San Suu Kyi."

However, Bo Bo Oo believes itwill take a long time for things to change under the current military regime.

"I see no end to the impasseunder Min Aung Hlaing. We will get a chance after his era. We are mobilizingthe people and looking forward [for] a political turning point for the peoplepower struggle. Party card carrying members are not happy but very optimisticfor the future," he added.

Myanmar's coup sparked massdemonstrations across the country, but the junta has violently cracked down onopposition, which has in turn fueled an armed resistance movement from peopledefence forces and ethnic minority groups.

According to the AssistanceAssociation for Political Prisoners, a human rights watchdog based in Thailand,3,185 people have been killed by the military, with over 17,000 people havebeen imprisoned for political reasons. The UN said over 1 million have beendisplaced because of the conflict.