Al Mayadeen English

  • Ar
  • Es
  • x
Al Mayadeen English

Slogan

  • News
    • Politics
    • Economy
    • Sports
    • Arts&Culture
    • Health
    • Miscellaneous
    • Technology
    • Environment
  • Articles
    • Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Blog
    • Features
  • Videos
    • NewsFeed
    • Video Features
    • Explainers
    • TV
    • Digital Series
  • Infographs
  • In Pictures
  • • LIVE
News
  • Politics
  • Economy
  • Sports
  • Arts&Culture
  • Health
  • Miscellaneous
  • Technology
  • Environment
Articles
  • Opinion
  • Analysis
  • Blog
  • Features
Videos
  • NewsFeed
  • Video Features
  • Explainers
  • TV
  • Digital Series
Infographs
In Pictures
  • Africa
  • Asia
  • Asia-Pacific
  • Europe
  • Latin America
  • MENA
  • Palestine
  • US & Canada
BREAKING
Russian Ministry of Defense: 37 Ukrainian drones destroyed in 4 hours over regions of Russia and the Black Sea.
Sheikh Qassem: Our supporters make up more than half of Lebanon's population, and all of these people are united under the banner of protecting Lebanon, its Resistance, its people, and its integrity.
Sheikh Qassem: There will be no phased handing in of our arms. [The Israelis] must first enact the agreement before we start talking about a defensive strategy.
Sheikh Qassem: Be brave in the face of foreign pressures, and we will be by your side in this stance.
Sheikh Qassem: Stripping us of our arms is like stripping us of our very soul, and this will prompt us to show them our might.
Sheikh Qassem: We will not abandon our arms, for they gave us dignity; we will not abandon our arms, for they protect us against our enemy.
Sheikh Qassem: The US efforts we are seeing are aimed at sabotaging Lebanon and constitute a call for sedition.
Sheikh Qassem: If you truly want to establish sovereignty and work for Lebanon’s interests, then stop the aggression.
Sheikh Qassem: The United States, which is meddling in Lebanon, is not trustworthy but rather poses a danger to it.
Sheikh Qassem: The United States is preventing the weapons that protect the homeland.

Myanmar junta enacts new political party law

  • By Al Mayadeen English
  • Source: Agencies
  • 28 Jan 2023 13:29
5 Min Read

The junta in Myanmar enacts new law on political parties, limiting political activity and hindering parties seeking to run in the upcoming general election.

  • x
  • Myanmar military Commander-in-Chief Senior General Min Aung Hlaing participates in a parade during the 76th Armed Forces Day in Naypyitaw, Myanmar, 27 March 2021 (EPA)
    Myanmar military Commander-in-Chief Senior General Min Aung Hlaing participates in a parade during the 76th Armed Forces Day in Naypyitaw, Myanmar, March 27, 2021 (EPA)

The junta in Myanmar enacted a new law regarding the registration of political parties, which would reportedly make it difficult for the opposition to amass enough impetus to even constitute a threat to the government in the general election set for later in the year.

The law, published on Friday in the state-run Myanma Alinn newspaper, sets minimum funding and membership levels for parties partaking in the upcoming general election while banning any parties or candidates deemed unlawful or linked to organizations declared by Naypyidaw to be "terrorist groups".

The military seized power in Myanmar back in February 2021 using a constitutional mechanism allowing for the transfer of power during an emergency situation. The toppling of the government caused major civil unrest in the country.

According to the text published in Myanma media, the new law gives parties two months to register with the Union Election Commission, stressing that those that do not would be "automatically invalidated" and considered dissolved.

In order to compete nationwide, parties would need to attain a minimum of 100,000 members three months after being registered - 100 times higher than the minimum set in the law used in the 2020 election.

Additionally, parties are required to open offices in at least half of the country's 330 townships within six months of being registered and must be able to contest in at least 50% of all constituents.

The announcement of the new law came four days after Senior General Min Aung Hlaing, the country’s military ruler, called at a Cabinet meeting for a new law that structures the political party system in a manner that reduces the number of parties. He said the election could be held once a state of emergency is declared after the army’s takeover is lifted, an action that is expected at the end of this month.

Former State Counselor Aung San Suu Kyi and then-President Win Myint were put under house arrest. San Suu Kyi, 77, has since been sentenced to over 20 years in prison by the junta.

Suu Kyi was imprisoned on five counts of corruption linked to the employment, procurement, and maintenance of a helicopter that resulted in a "loss to the state," as per the source.

Suu Kyi, 77, has been imprisoned by the military since the 2021 coup and has been convicted on every crime leveled against her, from embezzlement to illegally having walkie-talkies and violating Covid rules.

Related News

Death toll from Israeli raids on Damascus countryside rises to 5

77 Palestinian prisoners killed in Israeli prisons since October 7

In its first resolution on the situation in Myanmar since the coup, the UN Security Council adopted Wednesday a resolution on Myanmar calling for the release of former State Counselor Aung San Suu Kyi, former President Win Myint, as well as all prisoners detained at the hands of the Myanmar junta.

Myanmar has been in chaos since the military took power. According to the United Nations Children's Agency, over one million individuals have been displaced since the coup.

Moreover, it was discovered earlier in January that Israeli fingerprints were found in the Myanmar 2021 military coup after Reuters got its hands on new documents.

Shortly before the coup, Israeli Cognyte Software Ltd (CGNT.O) won a tender to provide the state-owned telecommunications company with advanced spyware that enables the government to monitor network users and intercept their activity.

A complaint presented by Israeli lawyer Eitay Mack to the Israeli attorney general said the deal was carried out despite an Israeli Supreme Court ruling in 2017 that bans arms sales to Myanmar's junta.

The complaint was signed by over 60 Israelis, "including a former speaker of the house, as well as prominent activists, academics and writers," Reuters reported.

According to the report, an activist group called Justice for Myanmar provided the tender documents to the news agency and Mack.

The documents reveal that Myanmar Posts and Telecommunications (MPT) issued a letter on January 2021 to reward Cognyte with the contract for the spyware technology.

This is not the first time the Israeli spyware company comes under fire for enabling malicious activities.

Facebook's parent company Meta stated in a report that Cognyte "enables managing fake accounts across social media platforms."

According to the US tech giant, its investigations found that the cyber firm had clients in several countries such as Mexico, Indonesia, and Kenya, who targeted journalists and politicians among others.

"Myanmar's junta is using invasive telecoms spyware without legal safeguards to protect human rights," a Reuters report added, citing industry specialists and activists.

  • Israel
  • Israeli spyware
  • Myanmar
  • Aung San Suu Kyi

Most Read

Almost instantly after the Helsinki Accords were signed, organisations sprouted to document purported violations, whose findings were fed to overseas embassies for international amplification. (Al Mayadeen English; Illustrated by Zeinab el-Hajj)

How ‘Human Rights’ became a Western weapon

  • Opinion
  • 23 Aug 2025
Israeli soldiers stand on the top of armoured vehicles parked on an area near the Israeli-Gaza border, as seen from southern Israel, Wednesday, Aug. 20, 2025 (AP)

Palestinian fighters target Israeli soldiers, vehicles in Gaza

  • Politics
  • 21 Aug 2025
Launch of a ballistic missile from Yemen toward the occupied Palestinian territories. (YAF military media)

Yemeni Forces announce firing hypersonic missile at Al-Lydd Airport

  • Politics
  • 22 Aug 2025
The ‘Arab Façade’ for Israeli occupation in Gaza

The ‘Arab Façade’ for Israeli occupation in Gaza

  • Opinion
  • 23 Aug 2025

Coverage

All
The Ummah's Martyrs

Read Next

All
A scene showing an al-Qassam Brigades fighter during an ambush on July 7, 2025, in a video released by the al-Qassam Brigades on August 26, 2025 (al-Qassam Brigades Military Media)
Politics

Al-Qassam reveals Beit Hanoun ambush targeting Israeli forces

A Palestinian youth stands on a hill overlooking IsraelI Ofer Prison, near the West Bank city of Ramallah, Wednesday, July 3, 2024. (AP)
Politics

77 Palestinian prisoners killed in Israeli prisons since October 7

US Ambassador to Turkey and Special Envoy to Syria Tom Barrack speaks during a joint press conference with US deputy special envoy for Middle East peace Morgan Ortagus at the presidential palace in Baabda, Lebanon, Tuesday, August 26, 2025 (AP)
Politics

US envoy Barrack calls Lebanese journalists 'animalistic"'

Tom Barrack's imperial tantrum in Beirut: When entitlement speaks (Photo by Mahdi Rtail)
Politics

Tom Barrack's imperial tantrum in Beirut: When entitlement speaks

Al Mayadeen English

Al Mayadeen is an Arab Independent Media Satellite Channel.

All Rights Reserved

  • x
  • Privacy Policy
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Authors
Android
iOS