Myanmar’s 2020 election: A tale of foreign money, new ethnic parties and censorship

Suu Kyi is reportedly spending US$6mil to monitor Facebook for fake news and hate speech. — AFP

MYANMAR’S ruling National League for Democracy (NLD) led by Aung San Suu Kyi is preparing for national polls on Nov 8. But this time around, the election is taking place amid talk of a huge China-backed operation to subvert the vote.

The NLD’s main rival, the army-backed USDP, was overshadowed after an outfit called the UDP or “Rose Party” sprang forward to field 1,130 candidates – second only to Suu Kyi’s party.