One of Myanmar’s major political parties, the Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP), offered to have an official meeting with the newly-merged Mon political party, the Mon Unity Party (MUP).
Mon State’s USDP Secretary U Win Maw Oo insinuated on February 6 that the USDP plans to have an official meeting with the Mon Unity Party. “We have close connections with some of the members of these two parties now merged as one. So, we will offer to meet and have discussions with them.”
The two Mon political parties, the All Mon Region Democracy Party (AMDP) and Mon National Party (MNP), agreed to merge back on August 7, 2018 at a meeting in the Mon State Capital of Mawlamyine.The new unified Mon party initially submitted it’s registration to the Union Election Commission (UEC) under the name “Mon Party.” However, the UEC rejected the name. Party representatives have since re-submitted the party registration under the name of “Mon Unity Party.”
U Win Maw Oo indicated that in the event of a meeting between the USDP and MUP, the USDP would discuss matters of sharing State Hluttaw (Parliament) seats and leadership roles if [the USDP] won the elections.
The USDP’s chair directed the party to hold meetings with other ethnic political parties, and negotiate with those that had similar directions for the 2020 elections. Ethnic parties with common views, would be given priority in collaborating with the USDP.
However, MUP’s Joint Secretary (1) Nai Layea Tamarh said “with regards to the elections, as of today, they [USDP] have not contacted us to form an alliance yet.”
Nai Layea Tamarh said that the MUP would carefully consider any official offer to meet with the USDP. Any MUP decision regarding an alliance with the USDP would be made based on the discussions with the USDP.
The USDP candidates ran in all constituencies in Mon State in the 2015 election. However, the party only won one constituency in the state, according to Union Election Commission records.
