A total of 40 political parties in Myanmar have been dissolved for failing to re-register, which includes the ousted National League for Democracy (NLD), according to state-owned media.
Myawaddy News announced on Tuesday night, during their regular news program, that the Union Election Commission had set Tuesday as the deadline and, as such, parties which failed to register will no longer be recognised.
The National Unity Government (NUG), a parallel government that was formed during the fallout from the 2021 coup, had denounced the would-be election and so had the NLD.
Not only is the legitimacy of the election questioned, but so were the strict new laws that were implemented in January 2023.
The new rules will prevent parties and/or candidates, deemed to have links to individuals or organisations “designated as committing terror acts” or seen as “unlawful”, from running.
The parties that also want to contest the national election, scheduled to be held in August this year, will also need to have at least 100,000 members within three months of registration. They will also need at least 100 million Myanmar kyat deposited in the state-owned Myanmar Economic Bank.
The amount is 100 times more than what was required under the old law, enacted during 2010.
The parties must also have representative branches in at least half of all 330 townships across Myanmar within 6 months, while also having representatives to contest at least half of all constituencies.
Opposition to the military-run administration still rages, especially in rural areas and regions with a strong presence of the NUG’s PDF groups and ethnic armed forces.
Military chief Min Aung Hlaing announced that “decisive actions” will be taken against those “unlawful groups” at the recently held military parade that marks Myanmar’s armed forces day.
