National Democratic Force
အမျိုးသား ဒီမိုကရေစီ အင်အားစု
AbbreviationNDF
ChairmanKhin Maung Swe
PresidentWin Naing
Founders
  • Khin Maung Swe
  • Than Nyein
  • Thein Nyunt
  • Win Naing
FoundedJune 2010 (2010-06)
Split fromNational League for Democracy
HeadquartersBahan Township, Yangon
Ideology
Seats in the Amyotha Hluttaw
0 / 224
Seats in the Pyithu Hluttaw
0 / 440
Party flag

The National Democratic Force (NDF)[n 1] is a political party in Myanmar (Burma). It was founded by former members of the National League for Democracy (NLD) who disagreed with the party leadership's decision to boycott the 2010 general election.[1]

History

The National Democratic Force (NDF) was founded in June 2010 by Khin Maung Swe, Than Nyein, Thein Nyunt, and Win Naing, all of whom were prominent members of the NLD. They formed the party after the NLD executive committee refused to register with the Union Election Commission (UEC) and announced the NLD's intention to boycott the 2010 general election.[1]

The NDF was among the three political parties, together with the Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP) and the National Unity Party (NUP), to stand in the 2010 general election on a nationwide basis.[2]

The NDF's adoption of the peasant bamboo hat, which is a symbol traditionally used by the NLD, created some controversy. After the 2010 election, Thein Nyunt and Kyi Myint, members of the Pyithu Hluttaw, and Phone Myint Aung, a member of the Amyotha Hluttaw, split from the party and set up the New National Democracy Party.

In December 2011, another member of the Amyotha Hluttaw Myat Nyana Soe, resigned from the party and joined the NLD.[3] After the 2012 by-elections, two NDF MPs, Than Win and Khin Maung Win, also rejoined the NLD.[4]

Party co-founder Than Nyein died of liver cancer at Pinlon Hospital in Yangon on 21 May 2014.[5]

The NDF contested 275 constituencies in the 2015 general election, but failed to win a single seat.[6]

In the aftermath of the military coup on 1 February 2021, the NDF collaborated with the new military junta, and party chairman Khin Maung Swe accepted a position in the State Administration Council.[7]

Ideology and beliefs

The NDF claims to be a social liberal party that seeks to promote individual freedoms and a market economy with state regulation.[8] The party has stated that it supports civil and human rights, the resolution of ethnic political issues, and the development of liberal democracy and civil society organisations in Myanmar.[9]

However, in the recent years, the NDF has grown close to the military-backed USDP.[10] The party has been described as nationalist[11] and some of its prominent members have expressed their support for the ultranationalist Ma Ba Tha organization.[12][13][14] The NDF also backs the State Administration Council, the military junta which seized power in the aftermath of the 2021 military coup.[7]

Leadership

Current

  • Khin Maung Swe, Chairman (since 2010)
  • Win Naing, President (since 2010)
  • Aung Zin, Secretary
  • Toe Mogok, Secretary
  • Kyaw Htet, Central Youth Leader
  • Others (unspecified): Toe Po, Thar Sine, Sein Hla Oo

Former

  • Than Nyein, Chairman of the Central Executive Committee (2010–2014)
  • Kyaw Thu Ya, Central Youth Leader (2012–2015)

Notes

  1. ↑ Burmese: အမျိုးသား ဒီမိုကရေစီ အင်အားစု, pronounced [ʔəmjóðá dìmòkəɹèsì ʔɪ̀ɰ̃ʔázṵ]

References

  1. 1 2 Kha, Kyaw Thein. "Breakaway Party Accuses NLD of Interference". www2.irrawaddy.com. Retrieved 16 March 2021.
  2. ↑ "Election to be three-horse race: NPA". Mmtimes.com. Archived from the original on 16 April 2014. Retrieved 15 April 2014.
  3. ↑ Archived 16 August 2010 at the Wayback Machine
  4. ↑ "NDF MPs rejoin NLD". Mizzima. 9 April 2012. Archived from the original on 9 April 2012. Retrieved 9 April 2012.
  5. ↑ "NDF Founder Dies of Liver Cancer". www.irrawaddy.org. Kyaw Hsu Mon. 21 May 2014. Retrieved 2 July 2014.
  6. ↑ "Parties". The Myanmar Times. Archived from the original on 17 November 2015. Retrieved 18 November 2015.
  7. 1 2 "US Slaps Sanctions on More Myanmar Junta Members, Ruling Body". The Irrawaddy. 18 May 2021.
  8. ↑ "National Democratic Force (NDF) Presents Its Policy, Stance And Work Programmes". Global New Light Of Myanmar. 17 September 2020. Retrieved 8 February 2021.
  9. ↑ "250 political parties". The Irrawaddy. Archived from the original on 4 November 2010.
  10. ↑ Aung Myat Thu (19 August 2020). "Commander-in-Chief is the guardian of the nation, says USDP". Mizzima.
  11. ↑ Win, Swe (19 November 2015). "Myanmar public dismisses Buddhist nationalism with a ballot". Myanmar Now. Retrieved 17 March 2021.
  12. ↑ Phyo Thiha Cho (24 November 2015). "Why Meikhtila went green - how USDP won in a traumatised city". Myanmar Now.
  13. ↑ "2015: The top 25 most influential people". Frontier Myanmar. 31 December 2015. Archived from the original on 25 November 2018. Retrieved 23 November 2020.
  14. ↑ Min, Aung Kyaw (23 February 2016). "Nationalists plan rally to 'protect' 59(f)".
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