New Kachin political party files with election commission

KDP leader Gumgrawng Awng Hkam

The newly created Kachin Democratic Party (KDP), filed registration papers with national election authorities earlier this month, according to party leader Gumgrawng Awng Hkam. Awng Hkam, who normally resides in the Kachin state capital Myitkyina, travelled to Naypyidaw to submit his party's papers in person on September 4th.  The party was formed by like-minded people from Kachin civil society who are interested in pursuing politics, Awng Hkam told the Kachin News Group during a phone interview.


Awng Hkam believes that Union Election Commission (UEC) officials have almost finished scrutinizing the 17 people listed in his party's application.  The party expects to learn in October whether the application has been approved or rejected.

Awng Hkam’s late father Gumgrawng Zau Ing was the head of the Kachin State National Congress for Democracy (KNDC), a party aligned with Aung San Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy (NLD) that won three seats in Kachin state during the 1990 election, the results of which were annulled by the military junta.   

Awng Hkam says his party is aiming to run candidates across Kachin state in the upcoming 2015 elections.  The party platform which has yet to be finalized will mainly focus on improving the health, education, transportation and communication situation in Kachin state, Awng Hkam said.

No Kachin party not affiliated with the government or the military was approved to run in the 2010 elections by the government controlled the Union Election Commission (UEC).  In the lead up to the 2010 polls the UEC blocked former Kachin Independence Organization (KIO) Vice Chairman No. 2 Dr. Tu Ja and his party the Kachin State Progressive Party (KSPP) from registering.  A decision that left many in Kachin state with the impression that the UEC was seriously biased. 

In late August Dr. Tu Ja and his supporters formed the Kachin State Democracy Party (KSDP) which also aims to run in the 2015 elections.  The KSDP application was filed on August 28 and has yet to be formally approved.  Several other Kachin political parties are expected to be formed in the coming months.

Another prominent Kachin politician, land rights activist Labyawng Bawk Ja, the National Democratic Force's (NDF) Kachin state chief remains detained in Hpakant where she faces charges stemming from the death of a patient she treated several years ago. Bawk Ja and her supporters have suggested that her arrest earlier this year was politically motivated.

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