Union Solidarity and Development Party

The Union Solidarity and Development Party (Burmese: ပြည်ထောင်စုကြံ့ခိုင်ရေးနှင့်ဖွံ့ဖြိုးရေးပါတီ; abbreviated USDP) is a political party in Myanmar, registered on 8 June 2010 by the Union Election Commission and currently standing as the largest opposition party in the bicameral Assembly of the Union. It is the successor to the formerly ruling military junta's mass organisation, the Union Solidarity and Development Association. The party was headed by President Thein Sein until 2013, and its headquarters are in Naypyidaw's Dekkhinathiri Township.[7] It is known for its close ties with the military and most of the party officials are former military personnel.[8][9][10]

Union Solidarity and Development Party

ခွေးပါတီငါလိုးမကြံ့ဖွတ်
AbbreviationUSDP
ChairmanThan Htay
Secretary-GeneralThet Naing Win
SpokespersonNandar Hla Myint
Vice-ChairmanMyat Hein, Khin Yi
FounderThein Sein
Founded8 June 2010 (2010-06-08)
Preceded byUnion Solidarity and Development Association
HeadquartersDekkhinathiri Township, Naypyidaw
IdeologyBurmese nationalism[1]
Ultranationalism[2][3]
National conservatism[4]
Social conservatism[5]
Political positionRight-wing to far-right[2][6]
ColoursGreen
Seats in the House of Nationalities
11 / 224
Seats in the House of Representatives
30 / 440
Seats in the State and Regional Hluttaws
38 / 879
Ethnic Affairs Ministers
0 / 29
Party flag
Website
www.usdp.org.mm

In the 2010 general election, the USDP won 883 seats out of 1154 total seats, 259 seats of 325 seats from Pyithu Hluttaw, 129 seats of 168 seats from Amyotha Hluttaw and 495 seats of 661 seats from Region and State Hluttaw (holding the majority in all, except the Rakhine State Hluttaw).[11]

On 4 March 2011, two USDP MPs from Bago Region, Ant Gyi, a Pyithu Hluttaw MP representing Thanatpin Township, and Cho Nwe Oo, representing Constituency 7 (Oktwin and Htantabin Townships) were disqualified by the Union Electoral Commission for failing to meet the constitutional requirements for citizenship (as both have a parent who are not Burmese citizens).[12]

Leadership

On 2 May 2011, Shwe Mann assumed the office as temporary chairman of USDP. Htay Oo as deputy chairman, Aung Thaung and Thein Zaw as Secretary 1 and 2. Maung Oo was appointed as Disciplinary Official of the USDP. Former Yangon Mayor Aung Thein Lin was appointed to lead the USDP's Yangon branch.[13]

On 16 October 2012, Thein Sein was re-elected as the chairman of the Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP) at the USDP's first party conference in Naypyidaw.[14] This is in direct contradiction to the 2008 Constitution of Burma, which states:[15]

If the President or the Vice-Presidents are members of a political party, they shall not take part in its party activities during their term of office from the day of their election.

As of October 2012, USDP's leadership was reorganised to form a 44-member Central Executive Committee, including:[14]

Because of mounting criticism over his dual role, Thein Sein handed over the position of USDP chairman to Shwe Mann on 1 May 2013.[16]

On 13 August 2015 it was reported that chairman Shwe Mann and general secretary Maung Maung Thein had been removed from their positions.[17][18]

Election results

House of Nationalities (Amyotha Hluttaw)
Election Leader Total seats won Total votes Share of votes +/– Government
2010 Thein Sein
129 / 224
 — — 129 Majority government
2012 Thein Sein
123 / 224
 — — 5 Majority government
2015 Thein Sein
11 / 224
 — — 113 Opposition
2020 Than Htay
7 / 224
 — — 4 Not recognised

House of Representatives (Pyithu Hluttaw)
Election Leader Total seats won Total votes Share of votes +/– Government
2010 Thein Sein
259 / 440
 11,858,125 56.8% 259 Majority government
2012 Thein Sein
220 / 440
 — — 37 Majority government
2015 Thein Sein
30 / 440
 6,341,920 28.3% 193 Opposition
2020 Than Htay
26 / 440
 — — 3 Not recognised

References
  1. Htet Naing Zaw (21 March 2018). "'You Can Label Us As Nationalist,' USDP Chairman Says". The Irrawaddy.
  2. Khin Moh Moh Lwin and Myo Set Pai (20 November 2020). "Far-right Buddhist nationalist candidates among biggest losers in 2020 election". Myanmar Now. Retrieved 23 November 2020.
  3. Internal Crisis Group (5 September 2017). "Buddhism and State Power in Myanmar". Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  4. Haynes, Jeffrey (2019). The Routledge Handbook to Religion and Political Parties. Routledge.
  5. "Coup In Ranks Of Myanmar's Ruling Party Highlights Concern Over Suu Kyi". 13 August 2015.
  6. "Myanmar is ripe for third-party opposition". Lowy Institute for International Policy. 12 May 2017.
  7. "Union Solidarity Development Association/ Party". Mizzima News. Archived from the original on 25 October 2010.
  8. San Yamin Aung (8 July 2020). "For Myanmar's Former Ruling Party, Hopes Run High as General Election Nears". The Irrawaddy.
  9. Hein Myat Soe (14 October 2020). "USDP says military in parliaments necessary to defend charter". Myanmar Times.
  10. Shoon Naing (12 November 2020). "Military-backed opposition rejects election result as Suu Kyi heads for victory". The Sydney Morning Herald.
  11. "Results - 2010 Election Watch". ALTSEAN Burma. Archived from the original on 1 January 2012.
  12. Shwe Yinn Mar Oo; Soe Than Lynn (7 March 2011). "Two USDP MPs sacked from national parliaments". Myanmar Times. Retrieved 23 August 2011.
  13. "Lower House speaker Thura Shwe Mann appointed USDP chairman". Mizzima News. 10 May 2011.
  14. Wang Yuanyuan (16 October 2012). "President U Thein Sein re-elected as Myanmar's ruling party leader". Xinhua News Agency. Retrieved 17 October 2012.
  15. "Constitution of the Republic of the Union of Myanmar" (PDF). Government of Myanmar. 2008. Retrieved 17 October 2012.
  16. "Thein Sein resigns as chairman of Burma's ruling party". DVB News. 2 May 2013. Retrieved 25 June 2013.
  17. Zaw, Hnin Yadana. "Myanmar ruling party chief sacked in power struggle with president". reuters.com.
  18. Doherty, Ben (13 August 2015). "Turmoil in Burma's military-backed ruling party as leaders are deposed". the Guardian.
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