Abbreviation NUP Founded 24 September 1988 | Chairman U Than Tin Membership 500,000 | |
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Preceded by Burma Socialist Programme Party Headquarters Bahan Township, Yangon, Myanmar | ||
The National Unity Party (Burmese: တိုင်းရင်းသားစည်းလုံးညီညွတ်ရေးပါတီ [táɪɴjɪ́ɴðá sílóʊɴ ɲìɲʊʔ jé pàtì]; abbreviated NUP) is a political party in Myanmar (Burma).
The party's headquarters are in Bahan Township, Yangon. First former chairman was U Thar Kyaw (1990) and its chairman is U Than Tin, who was elected leader of the party after the chairman, Tun Yi, died in April 2014.
History
The NUP was founded in 1988 as a proxy party of the military and the formerly ruling Burma Socialist Programme Party (BSPP) to contest the 1990 general election. The party was defeated by the National League for Democracy; however, the election was not recognized by the military and voided.
The party's first chairman was Tun Yi, a former deputy commander of the armed forces, and their first general secretary was U Than Tin. Tun Yi was succeeded by U Than Tin after his death in April 2014.
Despite playing a minor role in Burmese politics after the 1990 general election, the party maintained close ties with the military junta until the 2011–2012 political reforms; consisting mainly of former Ne Win loyalists, former BSPP members, and top military commanders up until that point. It contested the 2010 elections as the main challenger of the Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP), the de facto pro-regime party, since NUP had nominated 999 parliamentary candidates nationwide (contesting at both regional and national levels), second only to the 1,100 candidates nominated by the USDP. It has joined with opposition parties in accusations of vote rigging after suffering a massive defeat in the elections at the hands of the USDP.
The party had 316 potential candidates for the Pyithu Hluttaw, 512 for the Amyotha Hluttaw and 528 for the State and Regional Hluttaws, during the 2010 general election. 12 candidates were chosen for the Pyithu Hluttaw, 5 candidates for the Amyotha Hluttaw, and 46 candidates for the State and Regional Hluttaws.
In the 2015 general election, all 763 candidates of the NUP lost, except for one in Kachin State.