The Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP) has been required to submit its list of parliamentary candidates for the upcoming December 28 election to military leader Min Aung Hlaing for approval, according to a USDP party source. The party is fielding candidates across various constituencies, with Min Aung Hlaing deploying numerous military officers as parachute candidates within the USDP. The party has had to reserve many electoral seats for these military officers, and the final list of USDP election candidates must receive approval from Min Aung Hlaing. The candidates’ biographical information, educational qualifications, and background history must all be submitted to the military leader for review.
While there exists a major faction within the USDP that opposes the leadership of Min Aung Hlaing’s trusted chairperson Khin Yi, this group has been forced to remain quiet due to the dominant military-aligned forces within the party. Min Aung Hlaing removed former USDP chairman Than Htay in October 2022 and appointed Khin Yi as chairman and retired Lieutenant General Myint Zaw Oo as first vice-chairman. The party has been split into two major factions since Min Aung Hlaing’s appointment of Khin Yi as USDP chairman. However, during this period of military rule, it has been difficult to challenge the power of Khin Yi’s military-backed group. Currently, all administrative matters within the USDP must be reported to Min Aung Hlaing before implementation.
The military’s arrest of former Agriculture and Irrigation Minister Myint Hlaing, who served as USDP’s Union Territory chairman, in April 2024 was related to his alleged plot to remove party chairman Khin Yi. Myint Hlaing had been organizing resistance against Min Aung Hlaing’s manipulation of the party. The military arrested him on April 10, 2024, on retroactive corruption charges related to land seizures, sealing off his home and assets. During the search of Myint Hlaing’s residence, authorities seized weapons, gold bars and precious gems. These seized items were handled by military intelligence and transferred to the Central Bank as state assets. Myint Hlaing had previously served as Lieutenant General and Chief of Air Defense in the military and as Agriculture Minister from 2011-2016 under President Thein Sein’s administration. He was a top USDP leader and trusted confidant of former dictator Than Shwe.
