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The National League for Democracy ( my, အမျိုးသား ဒီမိုကရေစီ အဖွဲ့ချုပ်, ;
abbr. An abbreviation (from Latin ''brevis'', meaning ''short'') is a shortened form of a word or phrase, by any method. It may consist of a group of letters or words taken from the full version of the word or phrase; for example, the word ''abbrevia ...
NLD; Burmese abbr. ဒီချုပ်) is a liberal democratic political party in
Myanmar Myanmar, ; UK pronunciations: US pronunciations incl. . Note: Wikipedia's IPA conventions require indicating /r/ even in British English although only some British English speakers pronounce r at the end of syllables. As John Wells explai ...
(Burma). It became the country's ruling party after a landslide victory in the 2015 general election but was overthrown in a military coup d'état in early 2021 following another landslide election victory in 2020. Founded on 27 September 1988, it has become one of the most influential parties in Myanmar's pro-
democracy Democracy (From grc, δημοκρατία, dēmokratía, ''dēmos'' 'people' and ''kratos'' 'rule') is a form of government in which the people have the authority to deliberate and decide legislation (" direct democracy"), or to choose g ...
movement.
Aung San Suu Kyi Aung San Suu Kyi (; ; born 19 June 1945) is a Burmese politician, diplomat, author, and a 1991 Nobel Peace Prize laureate who served as State Counsellor of Myanmar (equivalent to a prime minister) and Minister of Foreign Affairs from 2 ...
, the former
State Counsellor of Myanmar The state counsellor of Myanmar ( my, နိုင်ငံတော်၏ အတိုင်ပင်ခံပုဂ္ဂိုလ်) was the title of the ''de facto'' head of government of Myanmar, equivalent to a prime minister. The office ...
, serves as its chairperson. The party won a substantial parliamentary majority in the 1990 Myanmar general election. However, the ruling
military junta A military junta () is a government led by a committee of military leaders. The term ''junta'' means "meeting" or "committee" and originated in the national and local junta organized by the Spanish resistance to Napoleon's invasion of Spain in ...
refused to recognise the result. On 6 May 2010, the party was declared illegal and ordered to be disbanded by the junta after refusing to register for the elections slated for November 2010. In November 2011, the NLD announced its intention to register as a political party to contend future elections, and Myanmar's Union Election Commission approved their application for registration on 13 December 2011. In the 2012 by-elections, the NLD contested 44 of the 45 available seats, winning 43, with its only loss being in one seat to the
SNDP The Shan Nationalities Democratic Party ( my, ရှမ်းတိုင်းရင်းသားများ ဒီမိုကရက်တစ် ပါတီ ; abbreviated SNDP), also known as the White Tiger Party or Kya Phyu Party is a ...
. Party leader Aung San Suu Kyi won the seat of Kawhmu. In the 2015 general election, the NLD won a supermajority in both houses of the Assembly, paving the way for the country's first non-military president in 54 years. The NLD is an observer party of the
Council of Asian Liberals and Democrats The Council of Asian Liberals and Democrats (CALD) is a regional organization of liberal democratic political parties in Asia. Background The Council was created on 15 October 1993, in a meeting in Taipei, Taiwan. There are nine member partie ...
. On 21 May 2021, the junta's Union Election Committee announced plans to permanently dissolve the NLD, though the junta later reversed this decision, with spokesman
Zaw Min Tun Zaw Min Tun ( my, ဇော်မင်းထွန်း; born 20 May 1992) is a Burmese professional footballer who plays as a centre back for Malaysia Super League club Penang and the captain of the Myanmar national team. He was the bronze ...
saying that the NLD will decide whether to stand in the 2023 general election.


History

The NLD was formed in the aftermath of the
8888 Uprising The 8888 Uprising ( my, ၈၈၈၈ အရေးအခင်း), also known as the People Power UprisingYawnghwe (1995), pp. 170 and the 1988 Uprising, was a series of nationwide protests, marches, and riots in Burma (present-day Myanmar) th ...
, a series of protests in favour of democracy which took place in 1990 and was ended when the military again took control of the country in a coup. It formed under the leadership of Aung San Suu Kyi, daughter of Aung San, a pivotal figure in the Burmese independence movement of the 1940s. She was recruited by concerned democracy advocates. The first founding chair is Brigadier General Aung Gyi and Aung San Suu Kyi is the General Secretary of the Party. In the 1990 parliamentary elections, the party took 59% of the vote and won 392 out of 492 contested seats, compared to 10 seats won by the governing
National Unity Party The National Unity Party, National United Party, Party of National Unity or National Unity Front may refer to: * National United Party of Afghanistan (founded 2003) * National Unity Party (Albania) * National United Party (Armenia), defunct * Nati ...
. However, the ruling
military junta A military junta () is a government led by a committee of military leaders. The term ''junta'' means "meeting" or "committee" and originated in the national and local junta organized by the Spanish resistance to Napoleon's invasion of Spain in ...
(formerly SLORC, later known as the
State Peace and Development Council The State Peace and Development Council ( my, နိုင်ငံတော် အေးချမ်းသာယာရေး နှင့် ဖွံ့ဖြိုးရေး ကောင်စီ ; abbreviated SPDC or , ) was the offi ...
or SPDC) did not let the party form a government. Soon after the election, the party was repressed and in 1996 Suu Kyi was placed under
house arrest In justice and law, house arrest (also called home confinement, home detention, or, in modern times, electronic monitoring) is a measure by which a person is confined by the authorities to their residence. Travel is usually restricted, if al ...
. This was her status for 16 of the following 21 years until her release on 13 November 2010. A number of senior NLD members escaped arrest, however, and formed the National Coalition Government of the Union of Burma (NCGUB). In 2001, the government permitted NLD office branches to re-open throughout Burma and freed some imprisoned members. In May 2002, NLD's general secretary, Aung San Suu Kyi was again released from house arrest. She and other NLD members made numerous trips throughout the country and received support from the public. However, on their trip to Depayin township in May 2003, dozens of NLD members were shot and killed in a military sponsored massacre. Its general secretary, Aung San Suu Kyi and Party's Vice President, U Tin Oo were again arrested. From 2004, the government prohibited the activities of the party. In 2006, many members resigned from NLD, citing harassment and pressure from the Tatmadaw (Armed Forces) and the
Union Solidarity and Development Association The Union Solidarity and Development Association ( ; abbreviated USDA) was a Burmese political party founded with the active aid of Myanmar's ruling military junta, the State Law and Order Restoration Council (SLORC), on 15 September 1993. Hi ...
. In October 2008, following the crackdown on the aftermath of the
Saffron Revolution The Saffron Revolution ( my, ရွှေဝါရောင်တော်လှန်ရေး) was a series of economic and political protests and demonstrations that took place during August, September, and October 2007 in Myanmar. The pr ...
a bomb exploded in the Htan Chauk Pin quarter of the Shwepyitha Township of
Yangon Yangon ( my, ရန်ကုန်; ; ), formerly spelled as Rangoon, is the capital of the Yangon Region and the largest city of Myanmar (also known as Burma). Yangon served as the capital of Myanmar until 2006, when the military government ...
, near the office of the military junta-backed
Union Solidarity and Development Association The Union Solidarity and Development Association ( ; abbreviated USDA) was a Burmese political party founded with the active aid of Myanmar's ruling military junta, the State Law and Order Restoration Council (SLORC), on 15 September 1993. Hi ...
killing one. The victim was identified as Thet Oo Win, a former Buddhist monk who participated in the Saffron Revolution, was killed while improvising the bomb at his own residence. The junta blamed the National League for Democracy party of planting that bomb, but experts believed at the time that the opposition was not in a position to carry out such acts amidst the tightly controlled security environment. The junta detained several members of the party in connection with the bombings that year. The NLD boycotted the general election held in November 2010 because many of its most prominent members were barred from standing. The laws were designed in such a way that the party would have had to expel these members to be allowed to run. This decision, taken in May, led to the party being officially banned. A splinter group named the National Democratic Force broke away from the NLD to contest the elections, but secured less than 3% of the vote. The election was won in a landslide by the military-backed USDP and was described by U.S. President
Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, Obama was the first Af ...
as "stolen". Discussions were held between Suu Kyi and the Burmese government during 2011, which led to a number of official gestures to meet her demands. In October, around a tenth of Myanmar's political prisoners were freed in an amnesty and trade unions were legalised. On 18 November 2011, following a meeting of its leaders, the NLD announced its intention to re-register as a political party in order to contend in 48 by-elections necessitated by the promotion of parliamentarians to ministerial rank. Following the decision, Suu Kyi held a telephone conference with Barack Obama, in which it was agreed that U.S. Secretary of State
Hillary Clinton Hillary Diane Rodham Clinton ( Rodham; born October 26, 1947) is an American politician, diplomat, and former lawyer who served as the 67th United States Secretary of State for President Barack Obama from 2009 to 2013, as a United States sen ...
would make a visit to Myanmar, a move received with caution by Burma's ally China. The visit took place on 30 November.
European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are located primarily in Europe, Europe. The union has a total area of ...
Vice President
Catherine Ashton Catherine Margaret Ashton, Baroness Ashton of Upholland, (born 20 March 1956), is a Labour Party (UK), British Labour politician who served as the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and Vice-President of ...
welcomed the possibility of "fair and transparent" elections in Burma, and said that the EU would be reviewing its foreign policy towards the country. The party was criticised for discouraging Muslim candidates during preparations for the 2015 elections, a step seen as related to its desire to keep good relations with hardline Buddhist monks such as the Ma Ba Tha association.
Ko Ni Ko Ni ( my, ကိုနီ, ; 11 February 1953 – 29 January 2017) was a prominent Burmese lawyer and an expert on constitutional law. He was assassinated by gunshot in Yangon, Myanmar, on 29 January 2017. Early life and education Ko Ni was bo ...
, a legal advisor to the party and a Muslim, was assassinated in January 2017. The party has also been criticized by international media outlets for its lack of response to renewed military-led violence against the Rohingya beginning in 2016, as well as for "doing little to address the country’s weak rule of law, corrupt judiciary, or impunity for security force abuses" with the power they had (although several national institutions remain dominated by the military). In the aftermath of the 2021 Myanmar coup d'état, NLD offices were occupied and raided by police authorities, starting on 2 February. Documents, computers and laptops were forcibly seized, and the NLD called these raids unlawful. On 9 February, police raided the NLD headquarters in Yangon.


Ideology

The NLD is described as liberal, democratic-liberal,
liberal-conservative Liberal conservatism is a political ideology combining conservative policies with liberal stances, especially on economic issues but also on social and ethical matters, representing a brand of political conservatism strongly influenced by libe ...
, and social-liberal party. The NLD supports
populism Populism refers to a range of political stances that emphasize the idea of "the people" and often juxtapose this group against " the elite". It is frequently associated with anti-establishment and anti-political sentiment. The term develop ...
and protectionist economic policies. Historically, the NLD has been a
social-democratic Social democracy is a Political philosophy, political, Social philosophy, social, and economic philosophy within socialism that supports Democracy, political and economic democracy. As a policy regime, it is described by academics as advocati ...
party.


Party platform

The party advocates a non-violent movement towards multi-party democracy in Myanmar, which was under military rule from 1962 to 2011. The party also claims to support
human rights Human rights are moral principles or normsJames Nickel, with assistance from Thomas Pogge, M.B.E. Smith, and Leif Wenar, 13 December 2013, Stanford Encyclopedia of PhilosophyHuman Rights Retrieved 14 August 2014 for certain standards of hu ...
(including broad-based
freedom of speech Freedom of speech is a principle that supports the freedom of an individual or a community to articulate their opinions and ideas without fear of retaliation, censorship, or legal sanction. The right to freedom of expression has been recogni ...
), the
rule of law The rule of law is the political philosophy that all citizens and institutions within a country, state, or community are accountable to the same laws, including lawmakers and leaders. The rule of law is defined in the ''Encyclopedia Britannic ...
, and national reconciliation. Aung San Suu Kyi also claimed amendments to the constitution of 2008, drafted with the input of the armed forces. She stated that its mandatory granting of 25% of seats in parliament to appointed military representatives is undemocratic.


Party symbols

The party flag features the
peacock Peafowl is a common name for three bird species in the genera '' Pavo'' and '' Afropavo'' within the tribe Pavonini of the family Phasianidae, the pheasants and their allies. Male peafowl are referred to as peacocks, and female peafowl are r ...
, a prominent symbol of Myanmar. The dancing peacock (the peacock in courtship or in display of its feathers) was frequently featured in Burmese monarchic flags as well as other nationalist symbols in the country. The fighting peacock is associated with the decades-long democratic struggle against military dictatorship in the country. The latter closely resembles a
green peafowl The green peafowl or Indonesian peafowl (''Pavo muticus'') is a peafowl species native to the tropical forests of Southeast Asia. It has been listed as endangered on the IUCN Red List since 2009 because the global population has been declining ...
, as it has a tufted crest. The NLD party symbol is adopted from the Myanmar (Burmese) Student Union flag. This student union organised since the uprising against British colonial rule in Burma, years before the independence of Burma in 1948, had played a major political role in Burma and Aung San Suu Kyi's late father Bogyoke Aung San (General Aung San) was one of the former presidents of the Rangoon University Student Union. The party emblem is a traditional bamboo hat ().


Election results


Burmese Constitutional Committee


House of Nationalities (Amyotha Hluttaw)


House of Representatives (Pyithu Hluttaw)


State and Regional Hluttaws


Women's Committee

NLD Women's Committee ( my, အမျိုးသားဒီမိုကရေစီအဖွဲ့ချုပ် အမျိုးသမီး ကော်မတီ) is the committee of NLD women and provided legal and social assistance to women in need. Women’s Work Committees have been formed at all administrative levels, including region and state, ward, and village. The chairman of the Central Women’s Committee is May Win Myint


See also

*


References


Bibliography

* Houtman, Gustaaf. Daigaku, Tōkyō Gaikokugo. Kenkyūjo, Ajia Afurika Gengo Bunka. ''Mental culture in Burmese crisis politics: Aung San Suu Kyi and the National League for Democracy.'' ILCAA, 1999. .


External links


Official website of the National League for Democracy Party

Official website of Aung San Su KyiNational League for Democracy (Liberated Area)
''(Archived fro
the original
on 19 January 2012)''
National League for Democracy (Burma)
''(Archived fro
the original
on 18 June 2013)''
Aung San Suu Kyi's pages
(Inactive website. No new activity since July 2014.)
The National Coalition Government of the Union of Burma Website
{{DEFAULTSORT:National League For Democracy 1988 establishments in Burma Aung San Suu Kyi Burmese democracy movements Internal conflict in Myanmar Liberal conservative parties Liberal parties in Myanmar Political parties established in 1988 Political parties in Myanmar Populist parties Social liberal parties