Myanmar military dissolves Aung San Suu Kyi’s political party

Naypyidaw: Myanmar’s military-controlled election commission said that the ousted leader Aung San Suu Kyi’s party will be dissolved for failing to re-register under a new electoral law, Al Jazeera reported citing state television.

The National League for Democracy (NLD) party was among 40 political parties that were unable to meet the ruling military’s registration deadline for an election, Al Jazeera reported citing Myawaddy TV.

Earlier in January, the Myanmar military gave two months to political parties to register under a strict new electoral law before fresh elections which they have promised to hold. However, the opponents have said that the elections will neither be free nor fair. The NLD has said it would not contest in the elections and called it illegitimate.

Bo Bo Oo, one of the elected lawmakers from Suu Kyi’s party, said, “We absolutely do not accept that an election will be held at a time when many political leaders and political activists have been arrested and the people are being tortured by the military.”

In November 2020, the NLD secured victory in Myanmar’s parliamentary elections. However, less than three months later, the Myanmar military carried out a coup and imprisoned Aung San Suu Kyi. Meanwhile, the Myanmar army justified the coup and said that there was massive poll fraud. However, the independent election observers did not find any major irregularities.

Aung San Suu Kyi is serving a prison sentence which totals 33 years. She has been convicted in a series of politically tainted prosecutions brought by the military, as per the Al Jazeera report. Aung San Suu Kyi’s supporters have stressed that the charges that have been made against her were contrived with the aim to stop her from actively participating in politics.

Earlier in January, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres expressed his deep concern over the final verdicts and sentencing of Myanmar’s ousted leader Aung San Suu Kyi, reiterating his calls for her immediate release.

“We’ve been asked for a comment on the sentencing of State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi and I can say that the Secretary-General expresses his deep concern over the final verdicts and sentencing of State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi and reiterates his calls for her immediate release and that of President Win Myint and of all arbitrarily detained prisoners in Myanmar,” said Farhan Haq, deputy spokesperson for Guterres during a briefing on January 3.

“The Universal Declaration of Human Rights enshrines the principles of equality before the law, the presumption of innocence, and the right to a fair and public hearing by an independent and impartial tribunal, with all the guarantees necessary for a person’s defence,” he added.