The deputy-speaker of the Mon State parliament, Dr. Aung Naing Oo, has said he will resign from the All Mon Region Democracy Party (AMRDP) following stalled efforts to unite the party with the Mon National Party (MNP). He is currently the AMRDP’s only elected MP.

The move comes shortly after the AMRDP had released a statement refusing to recognise a “unification committee” representing both political parties. Aung Naing Oo said he is resigning from the party as an attempt to continue the unification efforts.

“It is not easy for the Mon National Party and All Mon Region Democracy Party to form one united party,” he told DVB. “There are people on both sides who want the parties to merge, but the party leaders are not united on that opinion. Therefore, we will concentrate on uniting those people who are flexible.”

Aung Naing Oo has been a prominent member of the AMRDP since it was formed in 2010. In 2013, it announced plans to merge with the MNP with the aim of forming an ethnic Mon party that could successfully contest elections against the National League for Democracy and the Union Solidarity and Development Party. However, the proposed coalition has constantly been met with resistance from within.

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A so-called unification committee was formed during the last Mon National Conference at the end of 2016, composed of 18 members, including Mon monks, intellectuals and political activists. But hopes for a merger were further dashed when the AMRDP announced it would not recognise the committee.