Senior representatives of Burma's opposition National League for Democracy (NLD) have begun to arrive in Rangoon from all over the country to participate in next week's expansion of the party's leadership.
Candidates have already been selected by secret ballot at state and division level—with the exception of Shan State and Sagaing Division— and their names have been forwarded to the party headquarters in Rangoon, according to NLD spokesman Khin Maung Swe.
Khin Maung Swe said the list will be discussed by members of the NLD's central executive committee (CEC) and the state and divisional representatives at meetings on Feb. 16 and 17, and about 90 members will be endorsed for the reconstituted central committee. The committee was abolished by the regime in 1991.
In December 2009, NLD leader Aung San Suu Kyi announced that she wanted a reorganization of the party's aging leadership. The following month, the CEC chose nine new members—all in their 60s and 70s—expanding its total membership to 20.
At next week's meeting, seven central committee members will be selected from each big state or division, such as Rangoon and Mandalay, and five from small states such as Mon State.
Last month, the CEC sent a list of instructions to party leaders in various states and divisions for the nomination of candidates for the central committee. According to the instructions, a qualified candidate must share the views of party's policies, must not be someone who is currently suspended for violations of party regulations and must also be able to carry out the party's activities.
The process of selecting candidates for the central committee has come in for criticism from some members. “The CEC is just dictating who should be nominated,” said Myint Myint Aye, a party organizer from Meiktila township in Upper Burma.
Khin Maung Swe conceded there are some discrepancies in the selection process at the local levels, and that some members do not accept the decision of their regional representatives.
Another party official, Ohn Kyaing, said the expansion of the party leadership was unrelated to the upcoming election and was being carried out at the suggestion of Suu Kyi.
Although Suu Kyi and the NLD have not yet decided whether to participate in the 2010 election, a growing number of party officials are voicing support for the planned poll, according to party sources.
Suu Kyi told her lawyer on Tuesday that “this is not the time to make the decision,” and that the election would be lacking in substance without freedom of information and expression.
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