The Arakan Patriot Party (APP) has extended a proposal to join forces with the Arakan League for Democracy (ALD), a break-away faction of the Arakan National Party (ANP), according to a statement dated December 18.
“We share the same policies with the ALD. That’s why we made the offer to work with them towards the national interest of Rakhine [Arakan] people,” APP secretary U Khin Maung Tun told Narinjara News. He added that an alliance between the two parties would increase their clout in regional politics.
“Rakhine people lack interest in Rakhine politics. They are disappointed with the politics,” he said, adding that the party aimed to reinvigorate interest in local politics.
The APP extended the offer based on a decision set down by the 4th plenary meeting of the party’s central committee on December 2. The ALD has reportedly not yet responded to the proposal.
“It’s only been a few days since we made the offer [on December 18]. We are still waiting for how they will respond,” U Khin Maung Tun said.
The APP formed in 2015, and contested 18 constituencies in the November 2015 nationwide election, winning none of them.
The ALD announced its intention to split from the ANP in June, citing divisions within the party and preferential treatment of members of the Rakhine Nationalities Development Party (RNDP) faction, with whom they had merged to form the ANP. The ANP was one of Myanmar’s most successful ethnic parties in 2015, winning 12 Pyithu hluttaw seats, and 22 seats in the Rakhine State Hluttaw, just short of a majority of the assembly.
