Yangon: Aung San Suu Kyi said today that her opposition party would shortly decide whether to contest crucial elections in Myanmar later this year as it battles to change the constitution barring her from the presidency.
Speaking to senior National League for Democracy (NLD) members at the start of their annual two-day conference in Yangon, Suu Kyi injected some fresh doubt over whether her party would compete in its first national vote in a quarter of a century.
The polls, slated for October or November, are seen as a vital test of democratic reforms in Myanmar after decades of junta rule, and if free and fair, the NLD is expected to make sweeping gains.
But under the current charter Suu Kyi is barred from the top job under a constitutional provision excluding those with a foreign spouse or children from the presidency , her two sons are British.
"Soon the National League for Democracy will decide whether we will run for election or not," she told dozens of senior party members gathered for the meeting in downtown Yangon.
"After we decide, we will choose representatives."
The Nobel laureate has previously declined to rule out a boycott of the polls as her party struggles to amend the junta-era charter.
Its campaign has been focused on changing a constitutional clause that hands a crucial say over changes to the charter to the military, which is guaranteed a quarter of parliamentary seats.
But military members have vociferously opposed any reduction to their voting privileges.
Myanmar began emerging from military rule in 2011 following an election marred by widespread accusations of cheating and the absence of the NLD.
The once pariah nation was widely praised for then launching a spread of economic and political reforms with most international sanctions against it dropped.
But in recent months rights groups and Suu Kyi have warned that the country's transition towards democracy has stalled.
The NLD last competed in general elections in 1990, when it won by a landslide but was never allowed to take power.
Speaking to senior National League for Democracy (NLD) members at the start of their annual two-day conference in Yangon, Suu Kyi injected some fresh doubt over whether her party would compete in its first national vote in a quarter of a century.
The polls, slated for October or November, are seen as a vital test of democratic reforms in Myanmar after decades of junta rule, and if free and fair, the NLD is expected to make sweeping gains.
"Soon the National League for Democracy will decide whether we will run for election or not," she told dozens of senior party members gathered for the meeting in downtown Yangon.
Advertisement
The Nobel laureate has previously declined to rule out a boycott of the polls as her party struggles to amend the junta-era charter.
Advertisement
But military members have vociferously opposed any reduction to their voting privileges.
Advertisement
The once pariah nation was widely praised for then launching a spread of economic and political reforms with most international sanctions against it dropped.
Advertisement
The NLD last competed in general elections in 1990, when it won by a landslide but was never allowed to take power.
COMMENTS
Advertisement
Myanmar's Aung San Suu Kyi Being Used As "Human Shield", Son Fears Myanmar Leader Aung San Suu Kyi Moved To House Arrest Due To Heatwave No Bidders For Auction Of Aung San Suu Kyi's Myanmar Home: Report The 'Fake' CrowdStrike Worker Who Crippled Windows Users Worldwide Over 300 Indian Students Return As Quota Row Sparks Violence In Bangladesh 500 Para Commandos To Hunt Pakistani Terrorists In Jammu After Attacks Karisma Kapoor Relished These Refreshing Treats "On a Hot Sunny Day" Haryana Congress MLA Arrested By Probe Agency ED In Mining Case UPSC Chairman Manoj Soni Resigns Before Expiry Of Tenure Track Latest News Live on NDTV.com and get news updates from India and around the world.