According to a party spokesperson, the All Mon Region Democracy Party (AMRDP), formed by a 5 member break-off group from original 15 member “Working Committee” on March 30th, has added an additional 10 members to its ranks, and has already begun the process of registering itself to run under its new name in the 2010 elections.

“Two committee members left for Naypyitaw this morning to register the 15 committee members with the government. If the government approves all of the members, we can move on to the next step of the registration process, electing two leaders from among the fifteen committee member; but if not [if the government does not approve the roster] we will have to replace them and register again” he said.

The 15 committee members include Nai Nwe Soe, Nai Janu (Nai Ngwe Thein), Nai Seik, and Nai Baya Aung Moe, prominent members of Mon State’s political scene.

Nai Seik, a member of the new All Mon Region Democracy Party

“We want to fight for ethnic minority rights under the law [through legal political processes], while other groups may want to approach [the issue] a different way. We will also try to have only one Mon party to represent the Mon region,” the AMRDP spokesperson explained.

According to this spokesperson, the AMRDP was officially named and founded during an April 7, 2010 meeting, and aims to represent Mon State and other ethnic minority groups living in Mon-controlled regions. The party hopes to increase the political and cultural rights accorded to ethnic minorities, and to aid in Burma’s transformation into a democratic state.

In IMNA’s April 20th interview with New Mon State Party (NSMP) spokesman Nai Chay Mon, the spokesman refused to comment on the party’s desire to run in the 2010 elections, claiming that the party wished to remain neutral on the subject; the NMSP has repeatedly refused to register for the 2010 elections, as registration involves supporting the 2008 constitution, which the NMSP has publicly criticized on multiple occasions.