31-1-2024 (YANGON) Myanmar’s military government made an announcement on Wednesday (Jan 31) regarding the relaxation of election registration regulations for political parties, just hours before the state of emergency, in place since a coup three years ago, was set to expire.
The junta, which has declared its intention to conduct an election and restore democratic governance, stated that it had lowered the minimum threshold for party membership and the percentage of townships in which a party must operate.
The reason behind this change was not immediately apparent.
The military leaders have not provided any specific timeline for holding elections and, in the previous year, disbanded over 40 parties for failure to register, including the former ruling National League for Democracy (NLD) led by the incarcerated ex-leader Aung San Suu Kyi.
The six-month state of emergency, subject to multiple extensions, is scheduled to conclude later on Wednesday.
Citing unresolved electoral irregularities, the military seized power on Feb 1, 2021, abruptly ending a decade of tentative democratic reforms, following a landslide victory by the immensely popular NLD.
The NLD, asserting that the elections were conducted fairly, had intentions to amend the constitution to limit military influence and bring it under civilian oversight.
The military regime is confronting its most significant challenge since assuming control in 1962, with a youth-led pro-democracy movement evolving into an armed resistance following a violent crackdown on post-coup dissent.
The junta has employed artillery and airstrikes in attempts to suppress militias aligned with a shadow government and ethnic minority armed groups. Some of these groups launched a coordinated offensive in October, which caught the military off guard and undermined its credibility on the battlefield.
In the state media announcement on Wednesday, the minimum membership requirement was reduced to 50,000 from 100,000, and parties must now operate in one-third of townships instead of half.
Western nations, which have imposed sanctions on the military, have indicated their unwillingness to recognize the upcoming election.
