Junta’s UEC suspends Democratic Party for Myanmar New Society

By DMG 10 May 2022

DMG Newsroom
10 May 2022, Sittwe  

The Myanmar junta-appointed Union Election Commission (UEC) has suspended the Democratic Party for Myanmar New Society (DPMNS) as a political party for one year, alleging that the party failed to submit to an order from the election body to have the party’s finances audited.  

The UEC announced in August 2021 that it intended to review the funds, bank accounts and assets of political parties with the assistance of relevant government departments, citing its authority to do so under the powers granted in Myanmar’s Political Parties Registration Law. 

At a subsequent press conference in March of this year, the election body threatened legal action against parties that refused to submit to the financial scrutiny. 

The letter sent to the DPMNS by the UEC said the party had failed to submit its financial records for audit though the election body asked them to do so twice. At a UEC meeting on May 3, the commission decided to suspend the DPMNS for one year effective May 3, the UEC said. 

The party will have to cease all of its functions, with the exception of “activities”, to undergo an audit. The UEC threatened the DPMNS with dissolution if the party fails to abide by its order. 

DMG was unable to contact DPMNS officials for comment. The UEC’s legal action against the DPMNS served as a warning to major political parties that enjoy popular support, said political activist Ko Ye. 

“The intention of the junta’s UEC is clear: They will disband any party that opposes the regime,” he said. “Their legal action against the DPMNS is a warning to other major parties like the National League for Democracy (NLD) and Shan Nationalities League for Democracy (SNLD).” 

The SNLD and NLD have yet to open their books for a financial audit by the UEC. The military regime has detained many leaders of the NLD and, to a lesser extent, SNLD figures as well, filing an array of charges against them since the coup on February 1, 2021, that critics have decried as politically motivated. 

The junta has said it will hold elections next year, after invalidating Myanmar’s November 2020 general election, which the NLD won in a landslide.