The Union Election Commission (UEC) issued an announcement about the registration of the Mon Unity Party (MUP) which sees the merger of two powerful regional parties in Mon State to be registered as official political party.

MUP spokesman Nai San Tin said that the party had received letter sent by election commission by email and they would continue all formalities to be carried out for party registration in accordance with the Electoral Law and Party Registration Law.

“We have already done all necessary work at township-level by about 80 percent. Now we are working on presenting the party membership list and putting up party signboards at party offices,” Nai San Tin said.

As per the Party Registration Law, the party allowed to be registered as a political party must submit the list of at least 1,000 memberships within 90 days from the date of permission granted by the UEC.

All Mon Democracy Party, Mon National Party and those who are interested in Mon politics jointly applied to the UEC in December 2018 to be formed under the new name as the Mon Unity Party by merging these two political parties.

Mon Unity Party will be a powerful party in Mon State with membership of nearly 100,000 and they will contest in the 2020 general elections. Their main rival parties will be the National League for Democracy (NLD) party and the Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP).

The ethnic parties are currently merging into one single party and these ethnic parties are preparing to contest in the 2020 general elections.

Ethnic Kachin parties have been merged as Kachin People Party representing the Kachin State and also ethnic Chin parties have been merged as Chin National League for Democracy Party.