Burma's Union Election Commission (EC) has given the green light to 38 out of 42 political parties to contest the general election later this year.

It is now more than three months since the unveiling of electoral laws on March 8, but the Burmese military junta has yet to announce an election date. Political parties that registered are still waiting to hear if they have been accepted.

If the colonial design and intent had deprived the majority of the population from voting in pre-independence Burma, the disfranchisement of much of the population in newly independent Burma (1948-62) was rather accidental. It was caused by the civil war.

Since the 1922 introduction of a “legislative council” election to Burma, the notion of elections has always been suspect to the Burmese populace.

The demise of Burma's National League for Democracy as a legal entity is a victory for State violence against the country's peaceful movements for democracy.

Burma's top generals are exchanging their uniforms for longyis in the clear hope that the world will be fooled into thinking that a civilian, non-military government is taking power after the general election.

It was a morning in September 1988. I held a white membership card signed by Aung San Suu Kyi. I was so happy and proud. I said to myself, “Now, I've become a member of the National League for Democracy.”

US Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell made the remarks on the Senate floor on May 5 regarding the bill to renew sanctions against the Burmese junta.

What is to become of the democracy movement left unrepresented by the dissolution of the NLD after May 6?

Introducing the USDP—a new political vehicle, powered by a hybrid engine of the SPDC and the USDA.