The Rakhine Nationalities Development Party (; abbreviated RNDP) was a

political party A political party is an organization that coordinates candidates to compete in a particular area's elections. It is common for the members of a party to hold similar ideas about politics, and parties may promote specific political ideology, ...

Myanmar Myanmar, officially the Republic of the Union of Myanmar; and also referred to as Burma (the official English name until 1989), is a country in northwest Southeast Asia. It is the largest country by area in Mainland Southeast Asia and has ...

(Burma), representing the interests of the Rakhine people in

Rakhine State Rakhine State ( ; , ; ), formerly known as Arakan State, is a Administrative divisions of Myanmar, state in Myanmar (Burma). Situated on the western coast, it is bordered by Chin State to the north, Magway Region, Bago Region and Ayeyarwady Re ...

and

Yangon Region Yangon Region (, ; formerly Rangoon Division and Yangon Division) is an administrative region of Myanmar. Located in central Myanmar, the region is bordered by Bago Region to the north and east, the Gulf of Martaban to the south, and Ayeyarwady ...

. The party contested 44 seats in the 2010 General Election, of which it won 35. The RNDP was the largest party in the Rakhine State Hluttaw, the sole State or Region Hluttaw whose largest party was not the

Union Solidarity and Development Party The Union Solidarity and Development Party (; abbr. USDP) is an ultranationalist, pro-military political party in Myanmar. Alongside the National League for Democracy, it is one of Myanmar's two principal national parties. USDP is the succe ...

following the 2010 election. The party was at times accused of stirring up anti-Muslim feelings. On 7 June 2011, Kyaw Htun Aung, an

Amyotha Hluttaw The Amyotha Hluttaw (, ; House of Nationalities) is the ''de jure'' upper house of the Pyidaungsu Hluttaw, the bicameral legislature of Myanmar (Burma). It consists of 224 members, of which 168 are directly elected and 56 appointed by the Myan ...

(Chamber of Nationalities) MP, Aung Kyaw Zan, a

Pyithu Hluttaw The Pyithu Hluttaw (, ; House of Representatives) is the ''de jure'' lower house of the Pyidaungsu Hluttaw, the bicameral legislature of Myanmar (Burma). It consists of 440 members, of which 330 are directly elected through the first-past-the ...

(Chamber of Deputies) MP, and Maung Kyaw Thein, a Rakhine State Hluttaw MP, all representing Pauktaw Township's constituency, were disqualified by the

Union Election Commission The Union Election Commission (, abbreviated UEC) is the national level electoral commission of Myanmar (Burma), responsible for organising and overseeing elections in Burma, as well as vetting parliamentary candidates and political parties. ...

for allegedly defaming USDP and the

State Peace and Development Council The State Peace and Development Council ( ; abbreviated SPDC or , ) was the official name of the Military dictatorship, military government of Burma (Myanmar) which, in 1997, succeeded the State Law and Order Restoration Council (; abbrevi ...

during the election campaign. They subsequently filed appeals with the commission, which cost 1 million

kyat The kyat ( or ; ; ISO 4217 code MMK) is the currency of Myanmar (Burma). The typical notation for the kyat is "K" (singular) and "Ks." (plural), placed before the numerals followed by "/-". Amounts less than K. 1/- are typically denoted w ...

(US$1,250) to file. On 9 September 2011, the Commission reached a verdict and two of the three accused MPs (Kyaw Htun Aung and Maung Kyaw Thein) won their appeals, while Aung Kyaw Zan lost his seat in the Rakhine State Hluttaw. On 17 June 2013, The Rakhine Nationalities Development Party and Arakan League for Democracy signed an agreement to merge under the name of Rakhine National Party. With recognition of the new party, the Rakhine Nationalities Development Party was officially dissolved on 6 March 2014.

2010 general election

The RNDP was specifically formed to contest the 2010 election. The party formally registered with the

on 4 May 2010 and the registration was approved on 6 May. The RNDP national headquarters is located in

Sittwe Sittwe (, ), formerly Akyab (), is the capital of Rakhine State, Myanmar (Burma). Sittwe is located on an estuarial island created at the confluence of the Kaladan, Mayu, and Lay Mro rivers emptying into the Bay of Bengal. As of 2019 the cit ...

. The party is headed by chairman Dr. Aye Maung. The RNDP contested for all seats in Rakhine state and the post of Rakhine Minorities Representative in Yangon Region. Of a total 44 seats contested, it won 35 seats. It won seven seats in the

(House of Nationalities) and nine seats in the

(House of Representatives). It garnered 4.17% in the Amyotha Hluttaw, making it the second largest bloc in the house, after the junta backed

(which won 129 seats with 76.79%). In the Pyithu Hluttaw, it came in fifth with nine seats (2.72%). It also won 18 seats in the Rakhine State Assembly.

References

{{Myanma political parties Defunct political parties in Myanmar 2010 establishments in Myanmar 2014 disestablishments in Myanmar Political parties established in 2010 Political parties disestablished in 2014 Political parties of minorities in Myanmar Rakhine State

2010 general election

See also

References