Extremist Buddhists out to kill Suu Kyi's election hopes

Forces for democracy in Myanmar are facing a fierce backlash from the ruling USDP and its murky political alliancesThe ruling party and the main opposition have laid down their campaign strategies for next year's election in Myanmar (Burma).

Both parties will use their political power and support from allied parties to try to win. However the key difference between the two is that the ruling Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP) has the army behind it, which will greatly influence the election outcome. The USDP leadership is almost exclusively made up of former military generals, and the current generals were once their trusted subordinates.

The opposition National League for Democracy (NLD) is trying to amend constitutional clause 59(f), which prohibits anyone who has been married to a foreigner or has children who hold foreign passports from running for president. Calls from the NLD to transform a one-sided military-drafted constitution into a democratic one via parliamentary amendment are growing louder by the day. Both President Thein Sein and lower House Speaker Shwe Mann have said they will not bar Nobel Peace Laureate Aung San Suu Kyi from running for the presidency and support her in the event she is elected as president. Meanwhile, however, the USDP has secretly collected 106,000 signatures from party members rejecting a proposed amendment to clause 59(f), which bars Suu Kyi - who was married to a foreigner and has children with UK passports - from running for the top post.

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