National Democratic Force (NDF)

The National Democratic Force (Burmese: အမျိုးသားဒီမိုကရေစီအင်အားစု, pronounced [ʔəmjóðá dìmòkəɹèsì ʔɪ̀ɴʔázṵ]; abbr. NDF) is a political party in Myanmar (Burma) founded by former members of the National League for Democracy (NLD).

Contents

 * 1History
 * 2Platform
 * 3References
 * 4External links

History[edit]
The NDF was among the three political parties, together with the Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP) and the National Unity Party (NUP), to stand in the 2010 general election on a nationwide basis. The NDF's adoption of the peasant bamboo hat, which is a symbol traditionally used by the NLD, created some controversy. After the 2010 election, Thein Nyunt and Kyi Myint, members of the Pyithu Hluttaw, and Phone Myint Aung, a member of the Amyotha Hluttaw, split from the party and set up the New National Democracy Party. In December 2011, another member of the Aymotha Hluttaw, Myat Nyana Soe, resigned from the party and joined the NLD. After the 2012 by-elections, two NDF MPs, Than Win and Khin Maung Win, also rejoined the NLD.

Party leader Dr. Than Nyein died of liver cancer at Pinlon Hospital in Yangon on 21 May 2014.

The NDF fielded 275 candidates in the 2015 general election, but failed to win a single seat.

Platform[edit]
The NDF is a social liberal party that seeks to promote individual freedoms and a market economy with state regulation. The party supports civil and human rights and believes that ethnic political issues should be resolved alongside democracy and human rights issues. The party encourages the development of civil society organisations. In the recent years, NDF has grown close to the military-backed USDP. Some prominent members of the NDF have also espoused nationalist views and supported the ultranationalist organization Ma Ba Tha.