Burma allows registration of Suu Kyi's opposition party
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Rangoon - Burma on Tuesday allowed the registration of the opposition National League for Democracy, led by Aung San Suu Kyi, ahead of upcoming by-elections, a news report said.
Suu Kyi, the country's renowned opposition leader, has indicated her intention to contest the polls, possibly in a constituency in the old capital Rangoon.
The Union Election Commission "allowed the formation of National League for Democracy" (NLD) as the application to register was in accordance with the law, the state-run New Light of Myanmar newspaper reported.
The NLD was dissolved after boycotting the November 2010 general election in protest at new rules which effectively prevented it from running with Suu Kyi as a member. It applied for re-registration on November 25.
Suu Kyi, a Nobel laureate who spent 15 of the past 21 years under house arrest, confirmed two weeks ago her plan to run, in a video conference with the Council on Foreign Relations in Washington.
The by-elections, whose date has not been announced, are to cover 48 seats vacated by representatives who stepped down to take up cabinet positions after last year's polls, the first in two decades.
The current government consists mainly of ex military men from the former junta, but has instigated a number of changes, raising hope in the international community of further democratic reforms. //DPA
