The Union Election Commission (UEC), under the Military Council, has sternly warned entities that have been granted permission to register as political parties in Rakhine State, to avoid any connection with armed organizations.

“UEC emphasized that our political parties must adhere to their rules and regulations. We were specifically instructed to refrain from any involvement with armed organizations and were given a timeframe of 90 days to organize and strengthen our party's membership to meet the specified requirements”, U Lay Kyaw Thar, general secretary of KMNDP said.

Although UEC has been giving instructions to the parties, the coup Military Council has not clarified any timeline for these elections nor is it clear if any elections will take place at all in 2023.

According to a report from the New Light of Myanmar, during his meeting with military officers in Sittwe on July 11th, Senior General Min Aung Hlaing, the head of the Military Council, stated that multi-party democratic general elections would only take place when the country attains stability and peace.

Political analysts are expressing doubt about the likelihood of the election proposed by the Military Council gaining popularity and becoming a reality. The ongoing political crisis, along with instabilities and armed conflicts, significantly diminish the chances of the election taking place

According to the July 12th publication of The New Light of Myanmar newspaper, U Aung Moe Myint, during the UEC-organized meeting, directed political parties to arrange their internal organization to meet the necessary party strength within 90 days. Furthermore, he instructed them to establish party offices within 180 days from the date of registration.

On July 11th, U Aung Moe Myint, a member of the Union Election Commission (UEC) and the official responsible for Rakhine State, held a meeting with various political parties based in Rakhine State. The meeting took place at the UEC's branch in Sittwe and included representatives from the Arakan Front Party (AFP), Rakhine State National United Party (RSNUP), Mro National Party (MNP), Mro National Development Party (MNDP), and Kha Mee National Development Party (KMNDP).

For parties participating in state-wide elections, it is required that they have a minimum membership of 1000 individuals and the capacity to establish offices in at least 5 townships.

"Currently, we have not been able to gather 1000 members. Since we are participating in the state-level election, it is crucial for us to increase our party membership to meet the required 1000 threshold. However being a small party, we are facing financial challenges in this endeavor”, U Aye Tun, chairperson of MNP told DMG.

In Rakhine State, six political parties have submitted applications for registration to participate inthe election. However, the Arakan National Party (ALP) is still awaiting registration approval.