Thein Nyunt

“I have sensed the danger of an ‘elected dictatorship”

Thein Nyunt, chairman of the New National Democracy Party, is a well-known MP in the Lower House of parliament. He was an elected candidate of Thinganggyun Township constituency, Yangon, in 1990 election, but the junta refused the honour the election results. When his former party the National League for Democracy (NLD) boycotted 2010 General Election, he founded the National Democratic Force to contest the elections and won in Thinganggyun. He then established the New National Democracy Party. In a recent interview with Myanmar Now, Thein Nyunt discussed his future plans, expectations for constitutional amendments and possible troubles for the NLD beyond the Nov. 8 elections. The following is an excerpt of his interview. Q: Some people said you won a parliamentary seat in 2010 General Election because NLD did not contest. How can you win the seat in the upcoming election? Answer: (Aung San Suu Kyi) urged a ‘No Vote’ in the 2010 elections without NLD. But I won more than 50 percent of the vote in that election. In the upcoming elections, the NLD becomes my opponent. I trust on the voters in my constituency. And they also believe me as I promote their lives. They believe they will…