Myanmar’s military junta is threatening to dissolve political parties if they do not submit to an audit by the junta-controlled Union Election Commission (UEC).
This is no surprise. Some might argue that democracy is already dead and buried in the Golden Land as a result of the February 2021 military coup and the imprisoning of the civilian-elected leaders including democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi.
But the statement by the UEC made on 23 February is a chilling reminder that the military generals are not just intent on killing and imprisoning those who step out of line, they seek to strangle the people’s voice in the running of their country.
This week the UEC said the National League for Democracy (NLD) and the Shan Nationalities League for Democracy (SNLD) political parties will be prosecuted and face dissolution for refusing to submit to their audit by a deadline of 14 February, now extended until 9 March. If the parties do not submit to auditing, the registration of a political party can be suspended for up to three years and if the party fails to comply with the directive before the end of the suspension period the registration of the political party shall be revoked and the party shall be dissolved.
The statement by the UEC gained little media coverage or comment, in part because Myanmar’s democratic forces are on a war footing and are discarding the legislative actions of a regime that they claim has no legitimacy.
Yet the move to block political parties - including the popular party of Aung San Suu Kyi - has chilling implications for any attempt by the junta to present the country with a chance to vote in an election they have penciled in for 2023.
If the junta-controlled UEC “officially” removes the NLD and other parties from being able to take part in a faux democratic election under the military-written 2008 Constitution, the vast majority of the people of Myanmar will have little choice but to buck the regime’s move.
The statement appears to confirm fears that 1 February 2021 was the starting date of a process by the Myanmar military to remove the red flag and peacock from their “disciplined democracy” experiment and to make sure any sham democratic party system they bring in only reflects the will of the men in green.
The charging and sentencing of Aung San Suu Kyi, as well as other NLD members, and the use of laws and due process by the UEC, only seek to thrust a knife into the heart of democracy.
The 23 February UEC statement is yet one more reminder for the people that the only option worth considering is the total removal of the military junta from power.
