Shan Herald Agency for News |
| Shan-based parties form coalition Posted: 07 Nov 2016 05:21 AM PST Thirteen ethnic political parties based in Shan State last Thursday formed a new alliance aimed at promoting Shan State unity, according to Sai Ai Pao, the chairman of the Shan Nationalities Democratic Party (SNDP), which led the motion to form the coalition.  Of 18 ethnic political parties in Shan State, thirteen have joined the new League for Shan State Ethnic Political Parties (LSSEP), said Sai Ai Pao. "We invited all 18 parties to join," he said. "At the first meeting, 13 parties attended. But at this meeting, only 10 parties were represented. However, we still welcome the absent parties to join us." The SNDP chairman said he also wanted to urge all groups and individuals in Shan State – civil society organizations, political parties, and members of parliament both at union and state levels – to join the new coalition. "As the second national conference is slated for February, we have to start working and making preparations together," he explained. "This is a critical time for our Shan State," he said. According to Tun Naing, the leader of the Kokang Democracy and Unity Party, which has joined the coalition, all ethnic parties in Shan State have a responsibility to support unity in Shan State. "If we all just worked independently, it would be impossible to reach our goals," he said. "We must work together to achieve our aims." According to an LSSEP statement issued on November 4, only eight signatories had officially joined the coalition. The 18 parties based in Shan State are: Shan Nationalities Democratic Party, Lahu National Development Party, Kokang Democracy and Unity Party, Inn National League, Danu National Organization Party , Federal Union Party , Danu National Democracy Party, Pa-O National Organization, Lisu National Development Party, Inn National Development Party, Wa National Unity Party, Ta'ang (Palaung) National Party, Shan Nationalities League for Democracy, Wa Democratic Party, Eastern Shan State Development Democratic Party, Akha National Development Party, Union Pa-O National organization, and Shan State Kokang Democratic Party. | ||
| SNDP ‘will win’ 2017 by-election, says Sai Ai Pao Posted: 07 Nov 2016 12:34 AM PST The Shan Nationalities Democratic Party (SNDP) will win next April's by-elections in Shan State, according to party chairman Sai Ai Pao.
"We will contest the two vacant seats in the Pyithu Hluttaw [Lower House of Parliament] and the five seats in the regional parliament," said Sai Ai Pao, the former Shan State minister of forestry and mining. "We are contesting them because we believe we will win. If not, we would not compete." The SNDP chairman called for next year's polls to be free and fair, adding that armed groups should not interfere in the process. He also called for advanced voting to be transparent. A total of 18 vacant seats will be up for grabs in both Union and regional parliaments when by-elections are held on April 1 next year, according to an announcement from the Union Election Commission (UEC) on October 11. The SNDP won only one seat in the 2015 general election, a far cry from the 57 seats it won in the 2010 election (21 seats in the upper and lower houses; 36 seats at state level). The party was formed in 2010 by a group mostly made up of former members of the Shan Nationalities League for Democracy (SNLD) at a time when several of that party's leaders were serving lengthy prison sentences, including SNLD Chairman Khun Htun Oo and General-Secretary Sai Nyunt Lwin. Polls were cancelled in many parts of Shan State during the general election in 2015 due to ongoing clashes between Burmese government forces and the Shan State Progress Party/Shan State Army (SSPP/SSA). Constituencies where polling was postponed include Kehsi and Monghsu townships in central Shan State, and Kengtung Township in eastern Shan State. Polling was also cancelled in areas under the control of the United Wa State Army, such as Pangsang, Narpan, Pangwai and Mongmaw; as well as Mongla Township, which is the base of the Nationalities Democratic Alliance Army (NDAA). The UEC maintains that those areas are still too volatile for by-elections to take place next year. By Shan Herald Agency for News (SHAN) |
| You are subscribed to email updates from Shan Herald Agency for News. To stop receiving these emails, you may unsubscribe now. | Email delivery powered by Google |
| Google Inc., 1600 Amphitheatre Parkway, Mountain View, CA 94043, United States | |
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.