According to an announcement made by the Union Election Com- mission Chairman U Tin Aye the 2015 General Election will take place either in late October or early November next year. Tin Aye said that, despite rumors to the con- trary, there were no plans to postpone the elections, as according to the constitution a
new government must take office five years after the current government was instated, which happened in early 2011. The constitu- tion also says that parliament must convene within 90 days of elections.
Tin Aye, who was previously a leading gen- eral and remains as a senior figure of the ruling Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP), also confirmed that he will resign once “free and fair elections have been held.” The elections are being seen by many international observers as a test as to whether the government’s reform efforts are genuine and many international inves- tors have hinted that they will enter the Myanmar market if the election is a success. It will see voting take place in all the con- stituencies of Myanmar excluding seats ap- pointed by the Military, in order to appoint Members of Assembly to seats in the House of Nationalities, the upper house andHouse of Representatives, the lower house of the Assembly of the Union.
Preparations
The ruling Union Solidarity and Develop- ment Party have started rolling out strat- egies for their campaign. The USDP have confirmed it will contest its winning constit- uencies from 2010. The opposition National League for Democracy party confirmed that it will contest even if a constitutional mea- sure barring Aung San Suu Kyi from run- ning for president is not amended. National Unity Party confirmed it was also reviewing its winning seats from 2010 and was considering other constituencies to challenge. The National Democratic Force said the party is prepared to challenge in up to 200 constituencies, but was yet to deter- mine its candidates. Ethnic political groups will contest in each state based on ethnic party strongholds, although some have in- dicated they would consider forming an alli- ance as the Federal Union Party.
As of December 2013, 63 political parties are registered to take part in 2015.
