Junta Selects Proxy Candidates

The Burmese government has reportedly selected more than 300 proxy candidates to run in the general election in 2010.

Many of the candidates were selected from military personnel who are now attending the National Defense University in Naypyidaw, according to sources in Rangoon and Naypyidaw.

The candidates will run under the banner of the National Politics Party, a proxy party for the military, which has yet to be formed. No official announcement of the formation of the party or the selection of candidates has appeared in Burmese state-run media.

The candidates will undergo a three-month training process prior to the election, sources said.

Included among the government-selected candidates will also be members of the junta-backed Union Solidarity and Development Association (USDA) and the Myanmar Maternal and Child Welfare Association (MMCWA).

While some members participate with the new political party, the two organizations will retain their current status as "social welfare groups," according to the sources.

Sources also said the government will provide campaign funds and offer its own candidates to other political parties that will take part in 2010 election.

According to the 2008 constitution, the military is guaranteed control of 25 percent of both the Upper House and Lower House seats in Parliament.

Meanwhile, the formation of a new political party, the Democratic Party, was announced on Monday in Rangoon. The party will be headed by the daughter of late Prime Minister U Nu, along with two daughters of former high-ranking political leaders.

The main Burmese opposition party, the National League for Democracy, has said it will not participate in the election unless the government meets certain conditions. It says the election is a sham designed to perpetuate military rule under the guise of democracy.

Irrawaddy