The Union Nationalities Federal Democracy Party (UNFDP), a political party based in Kachin State, merged with the Kachin State People’s Party (KSPP) in the state capital Myitkyina on Friday.

The merger is the latest move to consolidate parties that seek to represent the interests of the people of Kachin State. The KSPP was formed last year when three other Kachin parties decided to join forces.

“If we don’t merge, we won’t get any victory. So we dissolved our Union-level political party and merged with another party. The most important thing is to show our respect for the people,” UNFDP leader Labyawng Bawk Ja told KNG.

The merger was officially announced at the Myitkyina office of the Kachin Nationals Consultative Assembly, which has been working to bring Kachin political parties together in accordance with the wishes of the Kachin people.

“The leaders of the UNFDP are our relatives. Therefore, we met them at the Kachin Nationals Consultative Assembly’s office and proposed merging our political parties. They accepted our proposal, so we had multiple discussions about the terms of the merger and finally, we were able to successfully bring our parties together,” Duwa Gumgrawng Awng Hkam, who is the vice-chairman of the KSPP, told KNG.

Labyawng Bawk Ja confirmed that the leaders of the Kachin Nationals Consultative Assembly visited the UNFDP’s office last April to discuss the merger.

The KSPP was formed in 2018 by three former rival parties, the Kachin Democratic Party, the Kachin State Democracy Party, and the Unity and Democracy Party-Kachin State.