Myanmar opposition in disarray; ruling junta expected to win polls Friday, 27 August 2010 05:17

YANGON: Boycotts, draconian election laws and resignations of opposition figures have put Myanmar’s ruling generals within easy grasp to sweep the first polls in two decades, just two weeks after setting an election date.

Myanmar’s politically marginalised opposition appears in total disarray in the run up to the much-criticised November 7 polls, experts say, playing into the hands of a military regime with no intention to give up its 48-year grip on power.

The leader of the National Democratic Force (NDF) party, Khin Muang Swe, said yesterday he would not run for a parliamentary seat, while influential Nobel Peace Prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi on Tuesday called on members of her now-defunct National League for Democracy (NLD) party to abstain from voting.

The moves, whether tactical or retaliatory, come as parties grapple with huge registration fees, strict campaign rules, intimidation by military agents and barely any time to recruit enough members to contest the election.

According to rules announced last week, campaign gatherings and publications will require official approval, criticism of the military is outlawed and election authorities are empowered to ban acts of “holding flags and chanting slogans.”

“This is just what the regime wants and has planned all along,” said Aung Naing Oo, a Burmese academic based in neighbouring Thailand.

“(Junta leader) Than Shwe’s only political strategy is divide and rule and a weakened opposition is just what he needs.”

Most analysts and opposition parties say the military has formed its own proxy party that is sure to win most seats in a parliament packed with army appointees, because of its big budget and sheer size and span of its representation.

The Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP) is comprised of incumbent army-picked ministers recently retired from the military and critics say it enjoys the backing of the powerful business elite.

Reuters

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