AFP/File – File photo shows a Myanmar activist holding a portrait of Myanmar democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi during a protest in Bangkok. The chairman of an opposition party that split from Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy (NLD) has said that elections expected to be held later this year could bring change to Myanmar.

YANGON (AFP) – The chairman of an opposition party that split from Aung San Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy (NLD) said Saturday that elections expected to be held later this year could bring change to Myanmar.

Dr Than Nyein, whose National Democratic Force (NDF) is made up of former members of Suu Kyi’s disbanded NLD, urged people to vote in the first polls Myanmar will see in two decades — amid signs of a spat within the opposition.

“People should assume that this election could possibly bring change,” he said in an interview with AFP.

“They should vote at this election to do their duty by choosing the party or the person who can really work for the people and the country.”

The NDF’s willingness to run in the election has put it at odds with other former members of the NLD, who opted to boycott the poll that critics dismiss as a sham designed to legitimise the junta’s half-century grip on power.

“We formed our party with the aim to continue the democracy struggle under the law,” Dr Than said. “Meantime, we are also trying to solve the social and economic problems that are happening at the moment in the country.”

The ruling junta has yet to announce a date for the election which, it is rumoured, will be held in October or November.

Suu Kyi, quoted by her lawyer, said in March that she would “never accept” her party registering for the election — a move that would have required the NLD to expel her — because the elections laws were “unjust”.

Meanwhile, there have been signs of friction between hardline opposition figures and more moderate activists who opposed the call for a boycott.

Discord between the two camps surfaced recently when former top NLD members accused the NDF of copying their party symbol — a bamboo hat — and lodged a complaint with the election commission about its use of the image.

But Dr Than said there was a chance of common ground.

“There could be many NLD members who believe and accept our policy as we have worked together for the past 20 years,” he said. “We will always welcome them to join us.”

Dr Than added that the party remained devoted to Suu Kyi.

“Aung San Suu Kyi is a real idol of democracy,” he said. “We will always respect and admire her courage, her belief and sacrifice.”

Myanmar’s military government opened the door on Friday for the NDF to contest the poll when it granted the group permission to register as a party.

The NDF still needs to prove it has 1,000 members to be eligible to run in the election, although it is thought this will be a formality for the group.

Dr Than said the NDF expected “restrictions” in the campaign, but said this was natural for a country in transition.

“We have to face this situation while transforming one system to another,” he said.

Parties contesting the election have been banned from marching, waving flags and chanting to garner support, as the army keeps a tightening grip on opposition campaigning.

The NLD, which was founded in 1988 after a popular uprising against the junta that left thousands dead, won a landslide victory in 1990 elections but the military rulers never allowed it to take office.

Suu Kyi has spent much of the past 20 years in jail or under house arrest.

Her incarceration was lengthened by 18 months in August last year after she was convicted over a bizarre incident in which a US man swam to her lakeside home, and there are fears her detention may be extended again.

Under election legislation unveiled in March, anyone serving a prison term is banned from being a member of a political party and parties that fail to obey the rule will be abolished.