The Arakan National Party (ANP) issued a statement on July 27 stating that the recent annulment of the 2020 general election results could exacerbate Myanmar’s political crisis.
“We consider the cancellation of the election results, given the current situation, that the political landscape in Myanmar is headed for total annihilation,” said U Khaing Pyi Soe, general secretary of the ANP.
The junta-appointed Union Election Commission (UEC) announced on July 26 that the results of the November 8 election had been officially annulled.
The ANP said in a statement that the third wave of the Covid-19 pandemic was causing more deaths as people across the country were forced to flee their homes due to armed conflicts and faced food shortages.
The ANP urged any organisation that wishes to address the needs of helpless people to provide immediate humanitarian assistance.
“The Covid-19 pandemic is a global problem. ... The situation is even worse when there is no stable government. I would like to suggest that the international community, civil society organisations and donors should work together to find a way to prevent the spread of the virus,” U Khaing Pyi Soe said.
The ANP’s statement also called for the immediate implementation of political talks that would lead to lasting peace, not a temporary ceasefire, so that millions of people who have been displaced by fighting across the country can live in peace and dignity.
The ANP’s statement said that it was urgent to create a new, stable and peaceful political environment in which all stakeholders could work together to build a situation conducive to nation-building, in line with the wishes of ethnic people.
Some ANP members resigned earlier this year in connection with the party’s involvement in the State Administration Council (SAC), as the junta calls itself.
“In order to ensure the ANP’s representation in the unique Arakan crisis ... and other Arakanese national interests, the party would work together with the current Tatmadaw government as necessary,” read an ANP statement issued just days after the military seized power in a coup on February 1.
The putsch effectively overruled the results of the November 8 general election long before the UEC’s official annulment this week, as the military regime took control of governing functions and began imprisoning thousands of political opponents, including many members of the election-winning National League for Democracy (NLD).
