Aung San Suu Kyi urges support for NLD amid Myanmar candidate row

2015-08-10

NLD chairperson Aung San Suu Kyi registers as a candidate in national elections, Yangon, Myanmar, July 29, 2015. AFP

UPDATED at 04:30 P.M. EST on 2015-08-10

Myanmar opposition chief Aung San Suu Kyi has called on voters to change the leadership of the country and back her National League for Democracy (NLD) in upcoming elections, amid a row over candidate selection that has threatened party unity.

Speaking to supporters in Saku, in central Myanmar's Magway division, on Sunday during a tour of the flood-ravaged region, Aung San Suu Kyi said the opportunity to change a country's governance "does not come up often," and urged the public to vote for the NLD, regardless of which names are on the ballot for the Nov. 8 election.

"We had that opportunity once in the 1990 elections, but the authorities denied it and the results were ignored – now we have another opportunity," she said, referring to the NLD's overwhelming victory which was disregarded by the then-ruling military junta.

"This kind of opportunity might not return over the next 50 years, so please don't let it slip away, and consider our request seriously. Please vote for the NLD."

The Nobel laureate dismissed concerns over a list of 1,090 candidates endorsed by the NLD's central executive committee (CEC) and released in early August which, in many cases, differed from those nominated by township and divisional party branches.

She told supporters the NLD would take "full responsibility" for the performance of the candidates the CEC chose to stand in the Nov. 8 election, and that they should focus on backing the party.

"Don't look at the name tags of the candidates, just vote for the party brand – we the party will take care of them if they behave counter to the will of the people," she said.

"We will take full responsibility for their deeds – good or bad. The responsibility of the people is simply to vote for the party, not the name of the candidate."

Local party officials have voiced their opposition to the CEC's candidate list, and following a closed-door meeting between Aung San Suu Kyi and the NLD's Magwe leadership in nearby Minbu earlier on Sunday, the divisional joint secretary reportedly resigned, according to the Irrawaddy online journal.

Prominent activists Ko Ko Gyi, the leader of the 88 Generation democracy movement, and Yangon division lawmaker Nyo Nyo Thin were omitted from the list, despite earlier calls from the party leadership to contest the election as NLD candidates. No explanation was given for their omission.

Critics say the CEC has failed to consider the interests of local NLD officials or adhere to its own selection criteria, and NLD members have publicly spoken out against the candidate list in towns throughout Sagaing, Magwe and Mandalay divisions.

Later on Sunday, Aung San Suu Kyi attempted to address the party infighting, telling 1,000 supporters in Minbu that her main purpose in traveling to the city was to meet with the NLD's representatives, according to a report by Eleven news media.

"The truth is that I had to discipline the candidates because only then would they will be able to fulfill their duties to the citizens," she said.

"Not all members are innocent within the party. Some hold bad reputations, but everything will be done within rules and regulations."

Aung San Suu Kyi said infighting among candidates was "only natural considering that our country had so long lived under the dogmatic belief that only with rank and position, somebody mattered," adding that the current system must be changed.

NLD protests

On Monday, local NLD members continued to speak out against the CEC's selection of candidates, with nearly 100 people from more than 50 villages holding a protest in Hlegu, a town on the outskirts of the commercial capital Yangon.

NLD party organizer Hla Gyi told RFA's Myanmar Service that the demonstration was part of a bid to show supporters that local party members still have their interests in mind.

"The candidates chosen by the party were different than those put forth by the local party offices," he said.

"None of the candidates represent the will of the people, so in order to save face and maintain the support of the people, we are protesting the party's selections."

The protest followed one on Friday last week by more than 300 people, including NLD members, in Magwe's Pakokku who spoke out against the party's selection of four local candidates demonstrators said were not supported by the local NLD township committee.

List amendments

According to the Irrawaddy, the NLD has made more than two dozen amendments to its candidate list for the election, but prominent figures rejected by the party remained off the roster.

Twenty-nine candidates originally selected to stand for the NLD have been replaced, the Irrawaddy quoted party spokesperson Nyan Win as saying, while a candidate has also been added to the list to run for a seat in the Upper House of parliament, bringing the total number of amendments or additions in the past week to 30.

Nyan Win told the Irrawaddy that the NLD still has "around 20 more [amendments] to come," and that many replacements were "caused by resignations," without elaborating on the circumstances of those who resigned.

Reported by Kyaw Zaw Win, Wayan Moe Myint and Khin Pyae Son for RFA's Myanmar Service. Translated by Kyaw Min Htun. Written in English by Joshua Lipes.

Link to original story on RFA website