Min Thu Tha – At a press conference held on May 25th, the All Mon Regions Democracy Party (AMDP) said that it is preparing for Burma’s 2015 elections.
The announcement was made on the last day of the AMDP’s Annual Convention, which was held from May 24-25 in Than Lwin Garden in Mon State’s capital of Moulmein. It was the first time the AMDP has held an annual convention.
At the press conference, AMDP General Secretary Dr. Min Nwe Soe said that “We contested [the election] in 2010, but we had a limited amount of time and so were not quite well enough prepared. We did not even get the chance to hold a party convention. [At this year's annual conference] we discussed how we would contest the 2015 election.”
During the 2010 elections, there were 35 AMDP candidates and 16 of them won seats in Burma’s national parliament, also known as the “Hluttaw.”
At last weekend’s AMDP Annual Convention Nai Sek was chosen as the party’s new chairman, while Nai Chan Htoy, Min Khin Maung Yin, and Nai Chan Nai were appointed to the party’s executive committee.
Another Mon political party called the “Mon National Party” (MNP)—which until recently was known as the Mon Democracy Party—has yet to start preparing for the 2015 elections, according to MNP General Secretary Dr. Min Soe Lin.
Regarding the upcoming elections, Dr. Min Soe Lin told IMNA: “We are still setting up our party’s sign boards after changing our name to the ‘MNP.’ Only two AMDP members have [decided to leave their party and] join the MNP. These two [include] former AMDP Chairman Nai Ngwe Thein (aka Nai Janu Mon) and former AMDP executive committee member Nai Chit Oo.”
The MNP officially registered as a political party this past March 28th, while the AMDP has been officially registered since May 24th, 2010.
