CNI News
27 November 2025
Political parties in Myanmar need to cultivate a new generation of young people and also pass on a platform that embraces human civility and political culture, said Daw Sandar Min, an independent parliamentary candidate in Yangon’s Latha Township, speaking to CNI News.
Union Minister, Lt-Gen Yar Pyae, also stated during the 10th Anniversary Review Ceremony of the Nationwide Ceasefire Agreement (NCA) held on October 24 that youth must be trained and nurtured for future peace.
Daw Sandar Min, who is running as an independent candidate in Latha Township in the 2025 election, told CNI that politics is not simply a matter of numbers or a platform based on quantity, but something that requires strong will and principled organizations.
She said: “Party politics must be a platform that minimizes public suffering and builds a system based on negotiation and consultation. This is the political culture that must be passed on to the next generation. Politics is not about hitting each other, stabbing with knives, or shooting with guns. Political culture means negotiation, compromise, and moving toward your goals through a systematic process. We need to pass this culture on to young people. But now, the law requiring a political party to have 100,000 or 50,000 members is unnecessary. That law should be abolished. Politics should not be about numbers but about strong-willed organizations and principles. We must hand over a platform that represents human civility to the next generation.”
Meeting among political party representatives
After the military removed the NLD government on February 1, 2021, claiming unresolved disputes over the 2020 general election voter lists, Myanmar has been under military rule.
Since then, many young people in Myanmar have come to believe that elections cannot determine the country’s future and that only armed struggle can, leading them to launch armed resistance aimed at overthrowing the military regime.
As armed conflict intensifies nationwide, political parties have found their political space shrinking and are struggling to nurture young generations.
Political parties need to provide training and cultivate young people, said Daw Nan Khin Aye Oo, the chairwoman of the Karen People’s Party (KPP), speaking to CNI News.
Political parties meeting and discussing with NSPNC
She said: “We need to give training programs for town-based youth. Many young people are avoiding military conscription, so in the villages hardly any youth remain. Only middle-aged people and elders are left, though some youth still remain. Among the literature and culture groups we had, some are no longer active. We are now reorganizing the remaining members. It is somewhat successful, but challenges remain—lack of manpower and skilled people. We need to restart from the beginning. We must teach the remaining youth. In our party, most of the elders are already old. To rebuild parties, we need young people. After the 2025 election, the youth have promised that they will take on the role.”
Amid Myanmar’s ongoing civil war, civilians and youth are living in fear as they face forced conscription by various armed groups. Many have also fled abroad to escape recruitment.
