Burma
Myanmar’s Legally-Elected Lawmakers Denounce Coup, Call for Release of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi
Members of National League for Democracy arrive at the parliament in Naypyitaw, the capital of Myanmar in 2016. / The Irrawaddy
By Nan Lwin 3 February 2021
YANGON—Lawmakers from the National League for Democracy have demanded that the military regime respect the results of the Nov. 8 election and stop all activities that prevent the convening of a new Parliament.
Just after military took legal action against party chairperson-cum-State Counselor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and President U Win Myint under the Export and Import Law and Natural Disaster Management Law respectively, the NLD lawmakers signed a statement to show their solidarity opposing the coup.
In a statement, the lawmakers said that they are elected members of the Pyidaungsu Hluttaw (Union Parliament) by a majority vote of the people. They said that lawmakers have already received certificates of election from the Union Election Commission (UEC).
According to the 2008 Constitution, the official term of a lawmaker is five years and no one has the right to revoke that term of office as long as the Constitution is in force, the lawmakers said.
In the statement they also called for an immediate release of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, U Win Myint and other detainees.
The parliamentarians said that they pledged to stand with the people in defiance of the military coup and remain loyal to the cause of democracy. They pledged their loyalty to the fundamental rights and interests of the state and its citizens as elected representatives.
The NLD won Myanmar’s Nov. 8 general election in a landslide. NLD candidates won 920 of the 1,117 elected seats nationwide, including seats in both houses of the bicameral Union Parliament and the state/regional parliaments, as well as ethnic affairs minister posts.
On Feb. 1, the military staged a coup just hours before the new NLD-dominated Parliament was set to convene, claiming it was forced to act over what it called electoral fraud in the Nov. 8 general election and the civilian government’s failure to address the issue.
Following Monday’s coup, the lawmakers were confined in Naypyitaw’s government guesthouse —guarded by soldiers. On Wednesday, the Myanmar’s military gave lawmakers 24 hours to leave, despite having initially given them until Feb. 6.
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