The United Democratic Party (;

abbreviated An abbreviation () is a shortened form of a word or phrase, by any method including shortening, contraction, initialism (which includes acronym), or crasis. An abbreviation may be a shortened form of a word, usually ended with a trailing per ...

UDP) was a Burmese

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, ...

. The party was registered in May 2010, and dissolved by Myanmar's

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. ...

in October 2020, for possessing illegal funds. UDP was also known as the Rose Party for the rose featured in its party logo. The party had courted enduring scrutiny for its controversial ties to Michael Kyaw Myint, a convicted businessman with ties to the United Wa State Party.

History

UDP was first registered with the Union Election Commission (UEC) in May 2010 to contest seats in the

2010 Myanmar general election General elections were held in Myanmar on 2010, in accordance with the new constitution, which was approved in a referendum held in . The election date was announced by the State Peace and Development Council (SPDC) on . The elections were th ...

. In the 2010 and 2015 elections, UDP won no seats. In the 2020 Myanmar general election, the party had planned to contest 1,130 constituencies, second only to the ruling

National League for Democracy The National League for Democracy (, ; Abbreviation, abbr. NLD; Burmese abbr. ဒီချုပ်) is a deregistered liberal democratic political party in Myanmar (formerly Burma). It became the country's ruling party after a landslide victo ...

(NLD) and more than the opposition

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 ...

. On 17 October 2020, the Union Election Commission formally dissolved the party, finding that the party had violated the Political Parties Registration Law, which prohibits political parties from using funds from foreign governments, organisations, and religious institutions. In October 2021, in the aftermath of the

2021 Myanmar coup d'état A coup d'état in Myanmar began on the morning of 1 February 2021, when Elections in Myanmar, democratically elected members of the country's ruling party, the National League for Democracy (NLD), were deposed by the Tatmadaw, Myanmar's milita ...

, the military-run '' Myanma Alin'' newspaper published an op-ed criticising the civilian government's decision to disband UDP. On 9 February 2023, the UEC permitted the party to re-register, after ex-party members submitted filings under two names: "Union Democracy Party" and "Union Development Party." The re-registered party will retain the same party logo and policy platform.

References

{{Myanmar political parties 2010 establishments in Myanmar Political parties disestablished in 2020 Political parties established in 2010 Political parties in Myanmar