Myanmar's Aung San Suu Kyi & the National League for Democracy party: A Timeline

On Wednesday (March 29, 2023), the military government of Myanmar continued its efforts to weaken its political adversaries by dissolving numerous opposition parties, including the one led by the deposed leader Aung San Suu Kyi, as they failed to register within the stipulated time frame prior to the elections.

The Election Commission announced on Wednesday, through the state-controlled press, that Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy (NLD) party was one of the 40 political parties that were dissolved. The NLD had a significant majority in Parliament from 2015 to 2021 and governed Myanmar, but was ousted by the military.

Prior to the official announcement, the NLD had made it clear that they would not register for the elections as they believed that the promised polls were a sham. According to the party and other critics, the upcoming elections, which have not been scheduled yet, will not be conducted in a free and fair manner. This is due to the fact that Myanmar is currently under military rule, with the government shutting down free media and arresting most of the leaders from Suu Kyi's party.

In the November 2020 election, the NLD won by a large margin. However, in February 2021, the army prevented all elected lawmakers from taking their seats in Parliament and took control of the government, including detaining top officials from Suu Kyi's government and party.

The military's seizure of power was met with widespread opposition from the public. Although peaceful protests were met with deadly force, many people who opposed military rule began to take up arms. As a result, large parts of the country are currently experiencing conflict.

At 77 years old, Suu Kyi is currently serving multiple prison sentences totaling 33 years. These sentences were handed down following a series of trials that were viewed as politically motivated by the military. Suu Kyi's supporters believe that the charges against her were fabricated with the intention of preventing her from participating in politics.

The military claimed that it carried out the takeover in 2021 due to alleged widespread poll fraud. However, independent election observers did not find any significant irregularities in the elections. Some critics of Senior General Min Aung Hlaing, who led the takeover and is currently Myanmar's top leader, believe that he acted because the election results hindered his own political ambitions.

According to the army's original plans, the new elections were expected to be held by the end of July. However, in February, the military declared a six-month extension of the state of emergency, which pushed back the possible legal date for holding an election. The military cited security concerns as the reason for the delay, given that it does not have control over large parts of the country, where it faces widespread armed resistance to its rule.

The Aung San Suu Kyi-led National League for Democracy (NLD): A Timeline

The National League for Democracy (NLD) is a political party in Myanmar (formerly known as Burma). It was founded on September 27, 1988, by Aung San Suu Kyi, a pro-democracy activist and Nobel Peace Prize laureate.

The party was established in response to the military junta's violent crackdown on pro-democracy protests in August 1988, which resulted in thousands of deaths. Aung San Suu Kyi, who had returned to Myanmar from abroad to care for her ailing mother, became a leading figure in the democracy movement and was placed under house arrest by the military regime in July 1989. Despite her detention, the NLD continued to operate underground, organising protests and calling for democratic reform.

In 1990, the military junta called for a general election, which the NLD contested and registered a landslide victory, capturing 392 out of 492 seats in the parliament. However, the military regime refused to recognise the results and Aung San Suu Kyi was kept under house arrest for a total of 15 years between 1989 and 2010.

During this time, the NLD was banned by the military regime and its members were subject to harassment, arrest, and imprisonment. However, the party continued to operate underground and maintained its position as the main opposition to the military government.

In 2010, the military junta held a general election that was widely criticised as being rigged in favour of pro-military parties. The NLD boycotted the election, but Suu Kyi was released from house arrest shortly after. In the 2012 by-elections, the NLD won 43 out of 44 seats it contested, and Suu Kyi was elected to parliament.

In 2015, the NLD contested the general election and won a decisive victory, winning 86% of the seats in parliament. Aung San Suu Kyi became the State Counsellor of Myanmar, a newly created position akin to prime minister. The NLD won by a landslide victory in the November 2020 election also.

However, the party's success has been marred by allegations of human rights abuses, particularly against Myanmar's Rohingya minority. The NLD has been criticised for not doing enough to address the crisis, and Aung San Suu Kyi herself has faced international condemnation for her handling of the situation.

In February 2021, a military coup took place in Myanmar, overthrowing the democratically elected government and once again putting Aung San Suu Kyi under house arrest. The party has since been suppressed by the military regime, and many of its leaders have been arrested or forced into hiding, until its official dissolution on March 29, 2023.

The Myanmar junta's new political party registration law

In January this year, the Myanmar military government passed a new political party registration law that makes it challenging for opposition groups to mount a substantial challenge against the army's preferred candidates. The law includes conditions such as minimum levels of membership and candidates and offices that would be difficult for any party without the support of the military and its associates to meet, particularly in the current repressive political climate.

Under the new law, existing political parties are required to reapply for registration with the election commission by March 28.

In the 2020 election, there were 90 parties, and almost half of them have now been dissolved. On Wednesday, the state-run Global New Light of Myanmar newspaper published the election commission's list of 50 existing parties that had registered by the deadline on Tuesday, while the other 40 that did not register will be dissolved as of Wednesday.

It is unlikely that the surviving parties will pose a significant electoral challenge to the military junta, as they only won a few seats in the 2020 election, and most will not have nationwide campaigns. According to the state-run paper, "Among these 63 parties, 12 parties will launch election campaigns across the nation and 51 parties only in one region or state."

The military-backed Union Solidarity and Development Party, which came in second place to the NLD in both the 2015 and 2020 elections, has registered again. However, the Shan Nationalities League for Democracy, an ally of the NLD that won the third-largest number of seats in 2020, did not register.

Thirteen new parties have registered, and the announcement stated that the opportunity for new parties to register is still available.