The political party of Myanmar’s imprisoned Opposition leader, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, has been officially dissolved, in yet another blow to the southeast Asian nation’s democracy.

The party, the National League for Democracy, was disbanded by Myanmar’s military-appointed election commission, state media said late Tuesday night. The announcement set the stage for an upcoming election that will almost certainly keep the junta in power for years to come.

Before Tuesday’s announcement, the NLD had already made it clear that it would not participate in the election, calling it a sham. When the party failed to register with the election commission, Myanmar’s state television said that the NLD — as well as 39 other Opposition parties — would be dissolved.

U Kyaw Htwe, a spokesman for the NLD, said the party would continue its activities, despite the announcement from the election commission. “As Daw Aung San Suu Kyi said before, if there are people, the NLD party will exist,” said U Tun Myint, another NLD spokesman. “The NLD is already in the hearts of the people.”

Tun Myint said that the military has burned down over 200 NLD offices, killed more than 90 party members and supporters and arrested more than 1,300 party members since the generals seized power in a coup two years ago.

The NLD clinched landslide victories in three previous elections. In the last election, held in November 2020, the party won 82 per cent of the available seats in parliament.

But before the new parliament could be sworn in on February 1. 2021, the military staged its coup, detaining Aung San Suu Kyi and other top NLD officials.

New York Times News Service