The Union Election Commission (UEC) has rejected organizers’ application to register a new ethnic Mon political party on grounds that its name is unacceptable, according to a Mon leader.
A group of ethnic Mon politicians met UEC members on Tuesday in Naypyitaw after the commission rejected their application to register the new organization as the “Mon Party”, Nai Layae Tama said.
“They told us at the meeting that our proposed name implied the new party was the only one representing ethnic Mon people. They said this could cause a problem if another Mon party was set up in the future, and told us to choose another name,” Nai Layae Tama said.
“We told them that the name was chosen by the Mon people, not us. That’s why we wanted this name,” he said. However, the party founders agreed to rename it the Mon Unity Party. This name was also chosen by the Mon people, though it was the second-most-popular choice, he said.
“We told [the UEC] the new name at the meeting, but we haven’t officially adopted it yet, as we need authorization from our leaders,” Nai Layae Tama said.
The new party is the result of a merger of the Mon National Party (MNP) and All Mon Regional for Democracy Party (AMRDP). They agreed to join forces in September. In 2015, they won a combined total of four seats in the state legislature, where the National League for Democracy holds a majority.
The new party has a central committee of 100 members and a central executive committee of 44 members, with former MNP and AMRDP members each holding 50 percent of the posts. The new party plans to run in the 2020 election.