Seventeen Political Parties Vying for Electoral Seats in Kachin State

By NETWORK MEDIA GROUP (NMG)
Wednesday, July 22, 2020

Nearly 10 ethnic political parties are expected to participate in the 2020 general election in Kachin State in November, a state election commission officer said.

Tun Aung Khine, deputy chair of the Kachin State Election Commission, said that a total of 17 parties are registered to contest the election.

“Among them, 10 of the political parties are ethnic parties. Five of these are based in Kachin State,” Tun Aung Khine told NMG.

There were once 21 political parties in the state, but three have been suspended, and one was recently dissolved, he added.

The 2020 election will see some new parties in addition to parties that ran in previous elections.

“The Naga National Party (NNP) is a new political party and is coming to open its branch office in Tanai. The United Democratic Party (UDP) and Union Betterment Party (UBP) also have come to open their new branch offices in Kachin State,” Tun Aung Khine explained.

Others, such as the Kachin State People’s Party (KSPP), are made up of previous parties that joined together to form a new entity.

“Kachin political parties used to stand separately in Kachin State in the past. They contested each other in the previous election. Some Kachin political parties merged and formed the KSPP,” U Tun Aung Khine told NMG.

According to the Kachin State Election Commission’s report released on July 9, the 10 ethnic political parties are: the KSPP, NNP, Kachin National Congress (KNC), Lisu National Development Party (LNDP), Tai-Leng (Shanni) Nationalities Development Party (TNDP), Shan Nationalities League for Democracy party (SNLD), Lhaovo National Unity and Development Party (LNUDP), New Democracy Party-Kachin (NDP), Shanni (Tai-Leng) Solidarity Party (SSP), and Shan Nationalities Democratic Party (SNDP).

The Union Election Commission (UEC) has announced that the 2020 general election will be held on November 8. Political parties and independent electoral candidates can submit their intentions for candidacy to the UEC between July 20 and August 7.

The National League for Democracy won the majority of available seats in the 2015 election. Twenty-five percent of parliamentary seats remain reserved for members of Burma’s military, in accordance with the military-drafted 2008 Constitution.