ANP seeks party members’ input on running in junta’s proposed election

By Admin 21 Feb 2023

DMG Newsroom
21 February 2023, Sittwe

The Arakan National Party (ANP) has sought input from executive committee members of its township branches on whether the party should register with the junta-appointed Union Election Commission (UEC).

The ANP headquarters on January 16 instructed the executive committees of the township chapters to submit their opinions, and the committees are currently holding talks on the matter. They have been directed to present their views to the headquarters on February 28, with the ANP central executive committee then planning to hold meetings before rendering a final decision, said ANP chair U Thar Tun Hla.

“We will be able to tell them whether we will register or not,” U Thar Tun Hla told DMG.

The ANP’s policy affairs steering committee met executives of the party’s Ramree Township chapter on Sunday, according to U Ba Shein, who sits on the committee.

“The majority [of Ramree Township executive committee members] want to re-register the party,” he said.

Executive committee members are also holding talks in Buthidaung Township, said former Arakan State lawmaker U Tun Aung Thein.

“We are discussing it, and the majority are in favour of re-registration,” he said.

The military regime recently enacted a new Political Parties Registration Law, which requires parties to re-register with the junta-appointed UEC within 60 days or be disbanded. Under the law, political parties intending to compete nationally must prove a membership of at least 100,000 within 90 days of registration and have offices in at least half of Myanmar’s 330 townships within six months.

“The ANP is based on ethnicity. It was formed for Arakanese people, and the party is therefore needed for the people,” said U Ba Shein, who is also a former Lower House lawmaker.

There are three major Arakanese political parties in Arakan State, and the Arakan Front Party (AFP) has said it will contest the junta’s proposed election, slated for later this year. The Arakan League for Democracy (ALD) has steadfastly opposed the military’s 2021 coup, and says it will not field candidates in the election.

The regime is planning to replace the previously used first-past-the-post electoral system with one based on proportional representation instead.