After the meeting with Suu Kyi on 23 March 2010, her lawyer Nyan Win said “Suu Kyi would not even think of registering under these unjust election laws.” He said “She wanted party members to know that the party would have no dignity if it registers and participates in the election.”
Reason – electoral law
The NLD’s decision followed a meeting of more than 100 party members in Rangoon on 29 March 2010. An NLD spokesman Nyan 
Win said the party had decided not to register because of "unjust" electoral laws, which were announced in early March.
The laws announced by the junta required the NLD to expel its detained leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, because she has a criminal record. The election law prohibits parties with members currently in detention, so a decision to register would force Suu Kyi out of the party.
Its refusal to register means the NLD will no longer be legally recognised.
Two weeks ago, 92-year-old Aung Shwe, who was a Brigadier General under the former dictator Ne Win, and some party leaders expressed their willingness to register the party, while other leaders stated their preference for party dissolution – which the party would face if it does not register – rather than expelling Suu Kyi and withdrawing the party’s call for a review of the regime-drafted Constitution.
On 22 March 2010, the party issued a statement saying they had
requested permission from the regime to have a meeting between Suu Kyi and her party central executive committee members in order that the NLD can continue its political functions. The statement also mentioned that the regime did not respond to a similar request first made on March 17.
Two weeks ago, the renowned Burmese journalist Ludu Sein Win chastised the party, saying it has done nothing for the public during the past 20 years.
Sein Win said if the NLD decides to register – which requires the party leadership to vow that it would protect the junta’s Constitution – then the party should make a public apology saying it was wrong for the party leadership to have walked out of the junta’s National Convention and issue the Shwegondaing Declaration calling for a review of the Constitution.
The National Convention was held to draft the controversial 2008 Constitution and the NLD party decided to walk out following Suu Kyi’s release from house arrest in 1995.
Difficult to repeat success
Analysts say there is little chance for the party to repeat another landslide victory in this year’s polls without the endorsement of Suu Kyi.
But, Khin Maung Swe, who supports the party contesting the election, said the party can still become a viable force in the future parliament even if it cannot get outright victory in the election.
“Even if the political space in the future parliament is very limited, it is our duty to expand the democratic channel, even if it is just a crack, a crevice or a seepage,” he said.
Former political prisoners living in Rangoon said there is a lot of confusion within the party and among the public on what the party should do.
“Daw Suu was the main decision maker when the party decided to leave the regime’s National Convention,” said a former political prisoner in Rangoon who wished to conceal his identity, adding that Suu Kyi has urged the people to “respond to unjust laws with unity and courage.”
In 1990, when the NLD was divided on whether to contest the election, Suu Kyi’s decision to participate broke the gridlock and resulted in the NLD gaining an unexpected landslide victory, but the junta never acknowledged the results.
Life-or-death issue
Some senior NLD leaders had argued the party risked rendering itself irrelevant if it chose not to contest the polls, even though that participation would be constrained by the military.
Win Tin, a veteran NLD member and one of Burma’s longest-serving political prisoners, described the meeting as a "life-or-death issue".
"If we don’t register, we will not have a party and we will be without legs and limbs," he said ahead of the announcement.
But Tin Oo, the party’s recently-released deputy leader, said that the decision did not signal the end for the NLD. "There are many peaceful ways to continue our activities," he said.
The new election laws have been condemned by the UN, US and UK, among others.
The laws state that parties cannot have any members with criminal convictions – which
rules out many top NLD leaders who have been jailed because of their political activism.
The laws also ban members of religious orders and civil servants from joining political parties. Buddhist monks were the driving force behind anti-junta protests in 2007.
Critics say both the election laws and the constitution under which the elections will be held are designed to ensure that the military retains a firm grip on power in Burma.
Here and here you can find full stories about NLD party’s boycott of elections.
Related links:
Burma: 2010 elections may bring no change
Burma urged to end repression of ethnic minorities before elections
Karen Communities Worldwide call for action to stop attacks on civilians
Oil and gas – more important than clothes in Burma
Norwegian Burma Committee:
