Dear Friends,

Below are the “2010 Election Watch” highlights for Week 8, covering 27 April – 3 May:

Developments

• The Union Solidarity and Development Party headed by SPDC PM Thein Sein filed registration papers to participate in the upcoming elections after Thein Sein and over 20 other SPDC ministers, deputy ministers, and other officials resigned their military posts on 26 April.
• Six new political parties and one existing political party filed registration papers to participate in the upcoming elections. To date, a total of 33 parties – 28 new parties and five existing parties – have filed registration applications.
• The SPDC Election Commission granted tentative approval to nine new political parties to contest the upcoming elections and also approved the registration of three existing political parties.
• Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and the NLD petitioned Burma’s Supreme Court to annul the SPDC Election Law provisions that prevent individuals who are serving prison terms from being members of a political party

For more developments click here

Reactions

• Norwegian State Secretary Gry Larsen said that “[t]he elections laws that have been passed are not meeting international standards when it comes to free and fair elections.”
• On the legality of the newly formed Union Solidarity and Development Party, Union of Myanmar Federation of National Politics Chairman Aye Lwin said, “[w]hen we first registered […] we had to sign a document saying we were not holding a position in government. I think Thein Shein and the other government officials who formed the USDP […] would certainly know that the position of prime minister is a government position.”

For more reactions click here

You can find comprehensive monitoring of the 2010 elections on the “2010 Election Watch” website. You can also join our 2010 Election Watch facebook page to receive the latest Election Watch updates.

Yours, in solidarity,

ALTSEAN-Burma