Sai Ai Pao, the leader of the Shan Nationalities Democratic Party (SNDP) says that it is very unlikely that his party will merge with their rival Shan party, the Shan National League for Democracy (SNLD), due to political differences.

Sai Ai Pao, previously served as the General Secretary of the SNLD, which won the second largest number of seats in the 1990 election, the results of which were ultimately annulled.

The party Sai Ai Pao now leads, the SNDP, was formed in 2010 by a group that consisted of many former SNLD members at a time when much of the SNLD party leadership including the party chairman Khun Tun Oo and the general secretary Sai Nyunt Lwin, were serving lengthy prison sentences.

Sai Ai Pao, who served as the minister of Forestry and Mines in the outgoing Shan State government, claimed that problems arise when two or three parties merge into a single party.  He cited the internal struggles currently plaguing the Arakan National Party, a party created following the merger of the Arakan League for Democracy and the Rakhine Nationalities Development Party (RNDP).

“Why doesn’t each party just work on its own way,” Sai Ai Pao said. “When they reach the parliament level we can then unite and work together.”

“I think, in that way, it will work out well,” he said.

In 2014, many Shan people called for the two major Shan armed groups to combine into one single Shan State Army (SSA).  Similar calls were made for the two major Shan parties, the SNLD and the SNDP, to merge to become one single party.  This did not happen however.

Because the two main Shan parties were unable to unite, in late 2015, a new Shan party, the Eastern Shan State Development Democratic Party (ESSDDP), was established.

Sai Leik, a spokesperson for the SNLD, told SHAN in February that it remains the SNDP’s right to decide whether to dissolve the party or not. He maintains that the aim of setting up a political party is to work for the interests of citizens.

“We hope to hold our party conference in March or April.” Sai Leik said.

“We will address this issue [merging] during the meeting. If they [the SNDP] have the will to unite, it will be welcomed by the SNLD”.

Earlier this month, the committee for Shan State Unity (CSSU), a coalition of Shan armed groups, political parties and civil society organizations, of which the SNDP is a member, held its fifth meeting to discuss Shan affairs. The SNDP decided not to attend however.

The SNDP did relatively well in the 2010 election winning a combined 21 seats in both the upper and lower houses of parliament.  At the state level in 2010 the party won 36 seats in Shan State, making it the largest regional party represented in any State or Region legislature.

During the November 2015 election, the SNDP suffered a major electoral setback winning only a single seat at the state level.  The SNLD did much better winning 40 seats, including 12 seats in the Lower House, three seats in the Upper House, 24 seats in the Shan State parliament and a single seat in the Kachin State parliament.

BY SAI AW / Shan Herald Agency for News (SHAN)