Members of political parties contesting Myanmar's first elections in two decades will be banned from marching, waving flags and chanting to garner support, under rules announced on Wednesday.
The directive, which did not reveal a date for the polls, requires party members who want to gather and deliver speeches at places other than their offices to apply for a permit one week in advance, according to state media.
'Rules prohibiting the act of marching to the designated gathering point and the venue holding flags, or marching and chanting slogans in procession ... shall be stipulated in the permit,' the New Light of Myanmar newspaper said.
Holding knives, weapons and ammunition are also banned, along with acts that harm security and the rule of law or tarnish the image of the military. Misuse of religion for political gains is also prohibited, state media said.
Critics have dismissed the election - which is scheduled for some time later this year - as a sham due to laws that have effectively barred opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi from participating.
Suu Kyi?s National League for Democracy (NLD) was forcibly dissolved under widely criticised laws governing the polls. The NLD refused to meet a May 6 deadline to re-register as a party - a move that would have forced it to expel Suu Kyi, who is under house arrest - and is boycotting the vote. -- AFP
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