Did Burma's Opposition Blow It?

After 22 years of military rule without a constitution, the Burmese state is gearing up to hold a parliamentary general election later this year. There has been little doubt that these polls would be highly managed by the junta government, but the final indicator of this came in late March, when the opposition National League for Democracy (NLD) decided not to re-register the party to take part in the election. The decision will end the party' s existence as a legal entity on 7 May, following the end of a stipulated 60-day registration period.

Little is publicly known of the exact reasoning behind the party's decision, beyond a 6 April press release. This stated that the party had concluded that it would not re-register due to the recently unveiled election laws, which it termed “unfair and unjust”. Among the new election regulations is the Political Parties Registration Law, which bars from the electoral process the more than 2000 political prisoners languishing in Burmese jails. These include the country' s key democratic leadership, such as the head of the NLD, Aung San Suu Kyi, as well as ethnic Shan leader Khun Htun Oo and student leader Min Ko Naing.