NP News – March 1

The Union Election Commission (UEC) has announced public notices to propose objections upon six political parties that have submitted applications for renewing the party registrations as per Section 25 of the #Political_Parties_Registration_Law. 

A total of 13 political parties have submitted applications for party renewing and establishment under the new law for the political parties’ registration as of March 1, 2023. 

They are Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP), Union Democracy Party (UDP), Federal Democratic Party (FDP), Myanmar People’s Democratic Party (MPD), Pa-O National Organization, Democratic Force Labour Party, New Democracy Party (Kachin), New National Democracy Party (NNDP), Public Contribute Students Party, Shan & Ethnic groups Democratic Party, National Unity Party (NUP), Phalon-Sawaw Democratic Party and Arakan Front Party. 

Amongst, the USDP, UDP, Public Contribute Students Party, NUP and Shan & Ethnic groups Democratic Party reportedly plan to run for the election at the national level. 

According to the Political Parties Registration Law (2023), national-level running parties will have to organize at least 100 thousand members and have to deposit MMK one thousand lakh at the Myanma Economic Bank. In addition, they will have to open the offices at least in half of all constituencies/ townships as a nationwide scale within six months after the UEC approves the registration of the party.

Myanmar has a total of 330 townships with 127 districts nationwide. Therefore, it’s meant to open at least 165 offices for the nationwide scale. The upcoming general election will be convened under the #Proportional_Representation (PR) system as declared by the UEC.

Those parties which will run in a single region or state at the regional level will have to compete at least one constituency in the General Election as per the new law although they would have to compete in at least three constituencies according to the former law.

At present, the UEC announced public notices to submit objections with regard to the flags, emblems and logos of renewing six parties including Union Solidarity and Development Party, New National Democracy Party, Pa-O National Organization, Public Contribute Students Party, New Democracy Party (Kachin) and Phalon-Sawaw Democratic Party.