Myanmar Oppositions Shuns Election Role For Veterans

Myanmar's opposition party has shunned an offer by veteran student activists to run alongside its members in this year's election despite hopes that their involvement would boost the party's chances of securing a majority in the historic poll.



The National League for Democracy (NLD), led by Nobel Peace prize laureate Aung San Suu Kyi, rejected bids from 17 members of the 88 Generation students group but did accept one candidate.



Those excluded from the party's list of 1,090 candidates include Ko Ko Gyi, who is well known for his role in a 1988 student-led uprising against the former military regime. 



A member of the party's central executive committee on Monday told local media that priority was given to younger people and women when selecting candidates, and then to ethnic minorities and loyal party members.



"Ko Ko Gyi is well-known politically to some extent. But, in his constituency we also have Dr. Saw Naing who has been with the NLD for a long time," Win Htein told the Democratic Voice of Burma.



The omission is surprising because spokespeople for both the 88 Generation and the NLD last month confirmed that Ko Ko Gyi and other members would run under the NLD banner.



The Nov. 8 poll will test the reforms brought in by President Thein Sein's quasi-civilian government in 2011.



Critics say the reforms are superficial as the military is still guaranteed a quarter of all parliamentary seats after the election, giving it an effective veto over changes to the country's controversial 2008 constitution.



The NLD boycotted the flawed 2010 poll that brought Thein Sein to power, meaning this year's general election is set to be the first the party has contested for 25 years



 It won a 1990 ballot by a landslide but the junta ignored the result. - Yangon