(Bangkok) The Burmese junta has decided to limit the possibility of political parties to meet foreigners or international organizations in the run-up to next year’s elections.
Posted at 9:25 a.m.
The South Asian nation has been in turmoil and its economy has been in tatters since the February 2021 coup that toppled the government of Aung San Suu Kyi.
The junta annulled the results of the November 2020 legislative elections, won overwhelmingly by Aung San Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy (NLD), last year on suspicion of fraud, although international observers estimated that the vote went well.
The electoral commission made up of members of the junta indicated on Friday that the 92 authorized political parties will have to request authorization if they wish to meet organizations or individuals from abroad.
“Political parties must respect the law. If they don’t, the authorization given to their party will be revoked,” the commission said.
The organization has also accused foreign embassies and non-governmental organizations of interference in the 2020 elections.
Burmese political parties protested against this new decree.
For Soe Thura Tun, former deputy of the NLD, this decision is undemocratic and does not respect the right to freedom of association.
“Hinder [les partis politiques] is not suitable,” he told AFP on Saturday.
Ko Ko Gyi, president of the People’s Party, considers this announcement unprecedented and considers that it does not bode well for the next election to be a real democratic exercise.
“We believe that their action will cause significant damage to the confidence that the people and the international community have in the upcoming election and the democratic system,” he told AFP on Saturday.
Last week, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken called on the international community not to support plans for a “sham” election for next year’s elections.
“They can be neither free nor fair under current conditions,” insisted the head of US diplomacy from Phnom Penh where he met ASEAN representatives.
After the coup of 1er February 2021, the army assured that it would organize new elections, which could take place in August 2023. But the country, in the grip of a violent civil conflict, must first be “in peace and stability”, has warned the head of the junta.