We really take it seriously concerning the ethnics,” he added to make his point. Pyithu Hluttaw or House of Representatives chairman is Kachin, vice chairman is Arakan, Amyotha Hluttaw or House of Nationalities chairman is Karen, vice president is Chin christian, and if you look at regions and states chief ministers, we have prioritized the local ethnics. (You) might be aware from 2015 that there is no government as colorful as the NLD.”

Zaw Myint Maung said: “We will form the Ethnic Affairs Committee with genuine Taingyinthar (indigenous ethnic people). Shan State head of states were always from ethnic Shan background, even they may be the under the tutelage of the military dictatorship. It even humiliated the Shan electorate by appointing Linn Htut, a NLD MP who is Bamar as chief minister, which has never happened throughout Shan history even during successive military government eras. Likewise, in Shan State, it sidelined the SNLD, which came out second after the USDP, with NLD coming out third, in Shan State government formation. But instead put up its own government led by NLD MP Nyi Pu. For instance, the NLD refused to let the Arakan National Party (ANP) form Arakan State government, even though it received the most vote in Arakan State. The alienation of the EPPs by the NLD was extra-ordinary, especially after the NLD-led government came to power in early 2016. The NLD landslide victory in 2015 national election further alienated the EPPs, as the NLD reconciliation was carried out with the military only and conveniently left out the EPPs until today. The NLD, together with the Shan Nationalities League for Democracy (SNLD) and other EPPs were alliance under the Committee Representing People’s Parliament (CRPP) umbrella to demand for the recognition of the electoral victory, where the NLD, SNLD and other EPPs won a landslide victory in 1990 first national election, since the military coup in 1962. The EPPs are not at all enthusiastic with the NLD’s Ethnic Affairs Committee and even more so when its leadership has openly stated their objective to only capture more votes in ethnic states, without giving any interest or hint to cooperate in coalition-building with them, which literally means just an all-out competition.Ī far cry from the collaboration between the NLD and EPPs during the oppressive military regime era that lasted until 2012, when the NLD reentered the by-elections brokered by the then Union Solidarity Development Party (USDP)-led Thein Sein government and won some 40 MP seats. In the same vein, the NLD spokesman Monywa Aung Shin said: “NLD will not indulge in either coalition forming in ethnic areas or (agreed) on competition in separate electoral areas.”īut coalition-building to form government within the parliament may be open, he told the BBC. On September 21, at the Central Executive Committee meeting, its member Tin Htut Oo told the NLD members that the party aimed at absolute victory to form government and is not interested in coalition-building. We established this committee to recruit more ethnic people into our party and work on ethnic affairs.” NLD Vice President Zaw Myint Maung admitted that establishing the Ethnic Affairs Committee was part of a strategy for the upcoming 2020 general election, he said at the press conference: “We need to overcome the power of the ethnic parties, which are merging within ethnic regions to compete in the upcoming election.

As earlier speculated by Ethnic Political Parties (EPPs) that the NLD is embarking on going it all alone.

Formation allplan