Myanmar election law bars Aung San Suu Kyi from polls
Myanmar's new election laws have barred opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi and more than 2,000 other political prisoners from contesting polls planned this year, state media reports said Wednesday.
Under the Political Parties Registration Law, published in state-run newspapers Wednesday, all prisoners are barred from joining political parties that register to contest a general election.
This condition effectively excludes Suu Kyi and 2,100 other political prisoners from running in the upcoming polls, which would be the first in Myanmar in 20 years, unless they are freed soon.
The law also excludes members of religious orders, members of insurgent groups 'as defined by the state' and foreigners from joining political parties.
Suu Kyi is currently serving an 18-month house detention sentence, which is set to expire in October, unless it is extended by Myanmar's ruling military junta.
At present, Suu Kyi still heads the National League for Democracy (NLD) opposition party despite her imprisonment, but under the new law, the NLD would need to drop her from its membership rolls to be allowed to contest the polls.
The law - signed by Myanmar's junta chief, Senior General Than Shwe - also gives the NLD 60 days to register with the newly established Election Commission if it wishes to contest the election, whose date was yet to be set.
'Parties can continue their work in accordance with the law when they have received permission for the commission,' the law read. 'They will be automatically invalidated if they do not reapply.'
The Election Commission is to consist of five members appointed by the State Peace and Development Council, as the ruling junta styles itself.
The new law confirmed fears that the junta intends to maintain an iron grip over the outcome of this year's planned election.
UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon and Western governments have warned that the outcome of the election would only be deemed credible if Suu Kyi and other political prisoners are released beforehand and if amendments are made to the constitution to guarantee the future government's independence from the military.
'Now the ball is in the court of the United Nations, United States and the international community, who have been repeatedly calling for the regime to make a inclusive, free and fair election,' said Aung Din, executive director of the pressure group US Campaign for Burma.
'I hope they will transform their words into a collective and effective action,' the Washington-based activist said.
The NLD, which won the country's last general election in 1990 by a landslide but has been denied power for the past 20 years, has demanded in the past that the junta release Suu Kyi and other political prisoners before it contests the polls.
The NLD has also called for amendments to the current constitution as a condition for contesting the upcoming election.
Myanmar's 2008 constitution effectively cements the military's control over any elected government by means of the National Parliament, primarily an appointed body with the power of veto over all legislation.
The junta has insisted that the constitution is a pre-requisite to handing power to any civilian government.
Comments
More Myanmar News
RSS-
AFC Asian Cup India women ready for Myanmar challenge
Indian women's football team will have to be at their best when they take on Myanmar, a higher ranked team, in their first match of the AFC Asian Cup (qualifiers) here Tuesday. There's a difference of five places - Myanmar are 46th in the FIFA rankings while India are 51st. "This match will decide our fate. We need a good start. The first match always sets the tone. The real test begins now," ...
-
Unravelling the Indian curry
Since childhood, being born in a North Indian Punjabi family, I have been fond of curries - spicy chicken curry or tangy vegetable tangy curry accompanied with rice or a crisp tandoori roti oozing with white butter. Then, there are a plethora of exotic curries such as Kerala's raw mango curry, green or red Thai curry, Indonesian curry or Burmese curry What, then, is a curry? It is a generic ...
-
Obama welcomes president of ‘Myanmar’ with cautionary reminder
WASHINGTON - President Barack Obama on Monday welcomed Myanmar’s president to the White House — the first such visit in nearly 50 years — and hailed the Southeast Asian nation’s progress on democratic reforms, but emphasized that much work remains to be done. After meeting privately with President Thein Sein in the Oval Office, Obama told reporters that Myanmar must ...
-
Obama cites movement toward political economic reforms in Myanmar
In a long-awaited White House visit, President Barack Obama told Myanmar's president Monday that he appreciates the Asian leader's efforts to lead the country in "a long and sometimes difficult, but ultimately correct, path to follow" toward democracy.Mr. Obama spoke as he sat in the Oval Office with former general Thein Sein, who became the first president of Myanmar to ...
-
Japanese PM to visit Myanmar
/enpproperty--> YANGON - Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe will pay a state visit to Myanmar soon, an official announcement said in Yangon Tuesday without specifying the date of his visit. According to Japanese media, Abe is to arrive in Nay Pyi Taw on Friday for a three-day visit. He will be the first Japanese prime minister visiting the Southeast Asian nation in 36 years since 1977 when ...
-
Labour disputes on the rise in Myanmar
Labour disputes between factory owners and workers in Myanmar continue to rise during this year statistics, according to worker representatives and worker advocates. Tensions rose between the factory owner and workers after 49 workers from San Kaung Polyethylene Factory in Hlaingtharyar Industrial Zone were dismissed for attempting to instigate a protest at the factory. More than a thousand ...
-
Myanmar cannot claim reforms are a success yet
President Thein Sein's visit to Washington this week should not be seen as a reward for transforming the country; there are still too many obstacles to democratisation An official visit to the United States by Myanmar's President Thein Sein this week should not be regarded as a celebration of the success of reforms in Myanmar. The job is far from finished, with many tough challenges ...
-
Myanmar promises aid for Rakhine fleeing Bangladesh
Myanmar authorities say they will arrange long-term housing in Rakhine State for Rakhine national ethnics who recently fled Bangladesh due to more and more use of violence against them by the Bengalis in the country. They are now living in temporary camps in the state. After the Rakhine conflicts, they came in groups into the state starting from October 2012 in fear of their lives as there ...
-
Myanmar leader aspires to build inclusive nation
US President Barack Obama saluted Myanmar President Thein Sein (pictured) for his leadership in pushing through startling political reforms, but warned that violence against Muslims must stop. As his guest became the first leader of his country in almost 50 years to visit the White House, Obama praised Myanmar's journey away from military rule and promised Washington would offer more ...
-
Obama meets Myanmar’s president
WASHINGTON -- President Obama welcomed Myanmar's president to the White House for the first time in nearly 50 years on Monday, hailing the Southeast Asian nation's progress on democratic reforms but emphasizing that much work remains to be ...
-
Obama applauds Myanmar’s progress
In a long-awaited White House visit, President Barack Obama told Myanmar's president Monday that he appreciates the Asian leader's efforts to lead the country in "a long and sometimes difficult, but ultimately correct, path to follow" toward democracy.Mr. Obama spoke as he sat in the Oval Office with former general Thein Sein, who became the first president of Myanmar to ...
-
Obama vows US support as Burma leader visits
WASHINGTON (AP) -- U.S. President Barack Obama told Burma’s president during a long-awaited White House visit that he appreciates the leader’s efforts to lead the Asian country on its long, and sometimes difficult, path to democracy and assured him of U.S. support. Former general Thein Sein was the first president of Burma to visit the White House in 47 years. Activists objected to ...
-
Bye-bye Burma mingalarbar Myanmar
, in addition to our websites which carry daily news in both languages. As such we have acknowledged the advancement in this country and the process of reform has been sufficiently inspirational to bring us into the fold. We are investing in the new Myanmar, and we are changing with the times. What will not change is ...
-
19-foot python killed Florida man captures kills record-setting Burmese python
A Florida man with experience handling snakes captured and killed a 128-pound Burmese python he discovered on the side of the road in Miami-Dade County, ...
-
Obama Couples Praise for Burmese Leader With Warning Against Violence
WASHINGTON ...
-
Human-Rights Groups Criticize Obamas Meeting With Myanmar Leader
After months of praising Myanmar for its political reforms, President Obama welcomed the country's president to the White House for the first time in nearly 50 years. But human-rights groups are not happy about the invitation. While the U.S. does not fully embrace the actions of the regime in Myanmar (formerly known as Burma), calling for further reforms and cooperation between ethnic ...
-
Whats in a name U.S. starts using Myanmar as well as Burma
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Southeast Asian nation formerly known as Burma received further backing from the White House on Monday in its campaign to be called ...
-
Thein Sein becomes first Burmese president to visit US since 1966
President Barack Obama shakes hands with Burma's president, Thein Sein in the Oval Office. Until two years ago the former general was on a US blacklist. Photograph: Shawn ...
-
Video Carney U.S. to refer more frequently to Burma as Myanmar
As a "diplomatic courtesy," the United States "has begun to allow limited use of the name Myanmar" to describe the former pariah state of Burma as it inches closer toward democracy, White House spokesman Jay Carney told reporters Monday - but official U.S. policy, he added, "remains that Burma is the name of the ...
-
Myanmar leader vows justice over communal violence
WASHINGTON -; Myanmar President Thein Sein says that all perpetrators of inter-communal violence in the country will be brought to ...
-
Myanmar Leaders Visit To Washington A Historic Occasion
The president of Myanmar, Thein Sein, met with President Obama in Washington, D.C., on Monday. Thein Sein's trip is the first state visit to the U.S. by a Burmese official in nearly 47 ...
-
Myanmars White House bow well done but not mission accomplished
Eric Schmidt . But human rights officials caution that the visit should not be prematurely hailed as a "mission accomplished moment" for the still-troubled ...
News from around our Network
Comments
No comments yet for this story
Have your say