Myanmar Spring Chronicle – February 27 Scenes
MoeMaKa, February 28 2023
13 political parties re-registered; A precarious Rakhine ceasefire agreement
The military council announced that 13 political parties that accept the legal terms of the new political party registration law issued by the military council on January 26 have applied for re-registration. The military council has predicted that the NLD party is in a difficult situation to register as it does not accept the military coup and some leaders of the party are leading and supporting the armed resistance forces. Under such circumstances, only a few political parties that can afford money and have moderate followings and supporters, like the USDP party, will be able to apply for nationwide registration.
As for the military council, in order for the USDP party, in which former military generals have taken leadership positions, to have privilege in the election, they added facts in the new law that if the small political parties want to register as a party eligible to compete in the election nationwide, they must deposit one hundred million(100,000,000) kyats in cash in the Central Bank, they have to compete in more than half of all constituencies nationwide, and they must have party members of at least 1 lakh. It has become a situation where parties that do not have the money and manpower will only have to apply for permission to organize within a state or region.
It appears that the military council will issue rules that are favorable to the USDP party and try to get the party to power. If the NLD party will not compete, it appears that the military council believes the USDP party will definitely win by following the path they have paved.
Of the 13 political parties that have re-registered now, only 5 parties are registered as parties that have the right to organize nationwide, and the remaining 8 parties are registered as parties that will only be allowed to organize within a state or region.
Under this situation, the National United Democratic Party (NUDP), established by Maupin U Sein Win, joined the People’s Party of U Ko Ko Gyi, who established a political party as a leader of the 88th generation, according to the news.
Among the ethnic parties, the Rakhine State-based ALD Party has revealed to the media that it will not re-register, and the Arakan Front Party (AFP) led by Dr. Aye Maung has applied for registration. Among other ethnic parties, it is still unclear how the Shan, Mon, Chin and Kachin parties decide.
Another news topic for today is that the ceasefire agreement between the AA in Rakhine State and the military council army is in a precarious position. On November 26, they verbally agreed to a cease-fire, and no other agreements have been reached from the cease-fire stage within 3 months, but the military council is preparing and constructing weapons and food supplies, AA spokesperson Khaing Thukha said at a press conference.
Khaing Thukha said that the military council did not comply with the ceasefire agreements, and among these factors were the failure to release more than 200 people from Rakhine State who had been arrested, and the military council’s restrictions on the transportation of goods such as food and medicine.
Three months after the military council agreed to a verbal ceasefire, there is no progress to be made, and preparations for war are being made at a rapid pace. It is clear that the military council will not consider elections in war-torn and military-ruled areas.
The military council itself is taking steps to allow the political parties and the people they control to hold elections in their controlled areas, and it seems that they will leave out the areas that are still in the flames of war.
According to some observers, there is a sense that the people who will dance on the stage and the audience who will watch the show are created in a separate virtual world created by the military council during the political struggle of Myanmar.