NLD officially boycotts polls after strategic talks

Friday, 20 August 2010 01:41 Myint Maung

New Delhi (Mizzima) – Burma’s main opposition party, the National League for Democracy, today announced an official boycott of the nation’s first general elections in 20 years, scheduled last week for November 7, a party spokesman said.

The decision was reached at a meeting attended by top leaders including seven central executive committee members and eight central committee members at the residence of vice-chairman Tin Oo. They said the party would encourage the exercise of voters’ right of free choice over voting as stipulated in the Union Election Commission Law, released in March this year.

“We decided to boycott this election as the 2008 Constitution and the 2010 electoral laws will not lead to the restoration of democracy and human rights in Burma”, party spokesman Ohn Kyaing said.

Consent however was not sought from party general secretary Aung San Suu Kyi in advance of taking this decision, he told Mizzima.

In a letter to party leaders on March 23, Nobel Peace laureate Suu Kyi – who remains a prisoner in her own house at the orders Burma’s ruling military junta – had said she would abide by decisions taken by both leadership committees, he said. She has been tipped for release released six days after the polls are held in November.

Also, Suu Kyi last month said voters could exercise their franchise by their free will – to vote or refrain from voting.
The electoral laws stipulate that rights include the right to stand in elections, not to stand, the right to withdraw from the candidate list and to vote or refrain from voting.

NLD leaders said discussions would continue on how the public could be encouraged to participate in the boycott.

“We are still discussing how to release our appeal to the people, how to respond to the people, how not to cast the vote, or not to cast votes by simply saying nothing … After our discussions, we have to get the approval of Daw Suu”, a senior party leader, Win Tin, told Mizzima, using the Burmese female honorific.

The party will urge the public to reject the elections by not going to polling stations or casting their votes on polling day, as the Union Election Commission Law permitted, he said.

“If the government responds to our action and takes action against our party we would respond … in no other way than legal action against the government. The free choice to exercise our franchise that we are advocating is in accordance with the electoral laws,” Win Tin said.

The meeting was also attended by senior leaders Than Tun, Hla Pe, Nyunt Wei, and Win Myint.

The NLD decided unanimously against contesting in the polls at the committees’ plenary meeting held on March 29, citing unfairness of the junta’s electoral laws that were widely condemned for their effective barring of Suu Kyi and at least 2,100 prisoners of conscience.