The Khami National Development Party has registered with the junta-appointed Union Election Commission (UEC) for the national elections slated for later this year, the state-run Myanmar Alinn daily reported on Wednesday.

U Than Htay, secretary-2 of the Khami National Development Party, told DMG that there should be a political party representing the Khami people in Arakan State, so the party will continue to stand for elections.

“In the current political situation, there is no situation in which our party cannot contest the election nationwide. We are thinking about a situation where we have to compete in the election. We will compete in the election with the idea that there should be a political party representing the Khami people in Arakan State. We registered with the UEC for the election on March 14,” he said.

The Khami National Development Party has registered with the UEC for the junta-sponsored elections at the state level. The Khami National Development Party competed in the 2015 general election for four constituencies in Buthidaung, Ponnagyun, Mrauk-U and Kyauktaw for seats in the  Arakan State parliament, the Upper House and Lower House, but did not win any of those seats.

Small ethnic political parties in Arakan State are reportedly planning to register with the UEC for the junta-organised election. The Mro National Development Party is among the ethnic political parties planning to contest the junta’s election. Officials have said the Mro National Development Party is a party formed to represent ethnic groups, so they decided to register in order to deal with ethnic issues.

“We will register with the UEC for the junta’s election on March 18. The Mro National Development Party is the party that represents the Mro ethnic group, so it will continue to stand up for the issues of the ethnic groups to be handled freely, within the framework of the law,” the party’s chairman U Aye Tun told DMG.

The Arakan Front Party (AFP) has registered with the junta-appointed Union Election Commission (UEC) for the national election slated for later this year. The Arakan National Party (ANP), the largest political party in Arakan State, is reportedly set to register with the UEC for the election.

The Arakan League for Democracy (ALD) has officially decided not to register for the junta-organised election slated for later this year, doing so at the political party’s central committee meeting on February 25, according to party officials.