NDF leader gives up on polls citing bureaucratic obstacles

Wednesday, 25 August 2010 19:44 Kyaw Kha

Chiang Mai (Mizzima) – National Democratic Force party central executive committee member Khin Maung Swe announced today he is withdrawing from nationwide polls on November 7.
He and other members of the main opposition National League for Democracy (NLD) party had split to form the National Democratic Force (NDF) so they could stand in this year’s elections.

The junta’s electoral watchdog, the Union Election Commission (UEC), told Khin Maung Swe and the NDF’s vice-chairman Tin Aung Aung, central executive committee member Thar Saing and politburo member Sein Hla Oo, to file an appeal to allow them to stand, as electoral laws barred them from participating on grounds of their high treason convictions in 1990.

Though they had already filed such petitions they said they were instructed to file again, so Khin Maung Swe believed this suggested the junta would block any of their efforts to be elected.

“I have submitted this petition to them. Now they’ve [the UEC staff] asked me to file it again as a personal appeal. They will not give me permission to contest in this election even though I submitted this petition again as they said. So I will not file this petition again and will not contest in this election,” Khin Maung Swe told Mizzima.

“They’ve imposed restrictions on me for this election. They have permitted registration of our party so they should also allow its leaders to participate … It is logical and natural,” he said.

It is not yet known whether the three other leaders will resubmit their petitions.

Other politicians who have turned their backs on the upcoming election, denouncing it as neither free nor fair, include Union Democratic Party chairman Phyo Min Thein.