The junta in Myanmar has dissolved the party of ousted former Prime Minister Aung San Suu Kyi and dozens of other opposition parties.
Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy (NLD) failed to register under the new military leadership laws for the next general election, state television reported. There is still no date for the vote promised after the coup of February 1, 2021.
The former Burma has descended into chaos and violence since the overthrow. Nobel Peace Prize winner Suu Kyi has been sentenced to more than 30 years in prison for various alleged crimes. The military is brutally cracking down on any resistance from citizens and anti-junta militias. Junta chief Min Aung Hlaing declared at a large military parade on Monday that an election can only be held in a stable environment.
At the end of January, the junta’s electoral commission passed a law to register political parties for elections, but with extremely complicated and unclear rules. Strict standards were imposed on political parties that could hardly be met. According to state television, a total of 63 parties had registered at national and local level by the deadline set on Tuesday. 40 parties missed the deadline and would be automatically dissolved, including the NLD.
“We could never have registered under the junta’s control because they want to wipe out all ethnic and opposition parties to stay in power,” a member of Suu Kyi’s party told the German Press Agency. “Let’s see if they ever hold an election in this crisis.”