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Three daughters form Democratic Party to contest Burmese elections
Irrawaddy - September 15, 2009
The formation of a new political party – the Democratic Party – to contend the 2010 Burmese elections was announced at a press conference in Rangoon on Monday. The party will be headed by the daughter of late Prime Minister U Nu, along with two other daughters of former political leaders.
The Democratic Party Chairman Thu Wai announced that the new party will be headed by: Mya Than Than Nu, the daughter of U Nu; Nay Yee Ba Swe, the daughter of late Prime Minister Ba Swe; and Cho Cho Kyaw Nyein, the daughter of late Deputy Prime Minister Kyaw Nyein.
He said the three would act as secretaries of the party and that it is prepared to participate in the upcoming election.
Veteran politician and former political prisoner Thu Wai made the announcement after a seminar titled "Analytic Discussion of the State of the Union 2010," which was held on Monday at the Dolphin restaurant on Nat Mauk Street, Bahan Township, in Rangoon.
He said the Democratic Party has been formed in order to pursue democracy and to participate in the 2010 elections, which will transform Burma from decades-long authoritarian rule into a new system and toward a new era. He said the party will abandon all personal grudges, and defuse conflicts relating to politics, party, religion, race and the factionalism of Burma past.
He said the party will pursue democracy through the means of the parliament. If the Democratic Party were in power, it would seek to release all political prisoners and to fulfill the peoples' desires, he added.
The seminar at the Dolphin restaurant was chaired by Thu Wai and well-known politician [Amyotheryei ] Win Naing. Another 30 participants attended, including officers from the Police Special Branch and journalists.
Win Naing said that the 2010 elections offer few prospects for the pro-democracy forces in Burma, since the pro-democracy groups are divided on whether to run in the elections or not.
According to the 2008 constitution, the military will officially and permanently control 25 percent of both the Upper House and Lower House seats in parliament with the defense services personnel nominated by the Commander-in-Chief.
Win Naing suggested that the ruling junta would also form some political parties in order to nominate representatives in various constituencies. More importantly, the junta's candidates will "apply various means to win" the election, he said.
One of the options for resolving Burma's crisis is "the sharing of administrative power" between politicians and the armed forces, Win Naing said.
"We can share administrative power. In the post-election government, the military could take 60 percent of the positions of power while politicians occupy 40 percent," he said. "Then in the next term, the power ratio between the military and the politicians would be 50-50. Then, after a third term of elections, the ratio could be 40 percent military and 60 percent for the politicians. This would mean a gradual decrease in military involvement in national politics and the open the door to a peaceful transition."
Win Naing warned, however, that a "power-sharing proposal" could be unacceptable for the National League for Democracy (NLD), which won the 1990 elections by a landslide.
Thu Wai said he wanted to convince others to first achieve power through the ballot box to fill the remaining 75 percent of parliamentary seats. He said he considered this a priority for all pro-democracy groups.
"If we were in power after the elections, we would propose rewriting the laws and regulations that are contradictory to democracy," he said. "But the most important thing is: first we must be in power."
However, a journalist from Rangoon told The Irrawaddy that he believed Thu Wai's policies were impractical and difficult to implement.
"To revise the constitution, the proposed amendment needs at least 75 percent support from the representatives of the Pyidaungsu Hluttaw (Upper House), and thereafter with the votes of more than half of eligible voters at a nationwide referendum. But first and foremost, the pro-democracy camp could hardly expect to win 75 percent of representatives' votes," he said. The newly formed Democratic Party announced it would have 17 central executive members and 10 central committee members. It said it would be recruiting in the cities and some other regions.
Well-known businessman Ye Tun, the son of post-independence architect U Chan Tun, will serve as vice-chairman of the party.
Responding to rumors that his party would run as a proxy of Kyaw Myint of the Canada-based United Democratic Party (UDP), Thu Wai said the Democratic Party has no connection with the UDP and is receiving no funding from the exiled group.
At the seminar, both leading panelists stayed away from making comments about the 1990 general elections.
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