Burma’ Nobel laureate and democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi may perhaps contest for a parliament seat in an imminent by-election if her National League for Democracy (NLD) party decided to re-register itself to enter politics, NLD spokesman Nyan Win said yesterday.

In the contemporary history of Burma, the 1990 General Elections have been recognized as a noteworthy milestone. After 26 years of military dictatorship, the people of Burma received an opportunity to vote for a government of their choice. It was one of the free and fair elections that had taken place in the Southeast Asian region in that decade.

But regrettably, the election results were not honored by the military regime. While pronouncing it’s faith in democratic reforms, the junta has been launching a major offensive upon the opposition NLD since the 1990 elections results. Afterwards, by means fair or foul, the junta has repeatedly targeted to do away with the people’s mandate that was given to the NLD in the 1990 General Elections.

On the contrary, the 7 November 2010 election, won by the military-backed political proxies, was flawed by widespread complaints of vote-rigging and the exclusion of the party led by Aung San Suu Kyi, who was released from house arrest shortly after the polls.

If the President Thein Sein government has the aptitude and readiness to go along the political reform path, it must ensure the existence of the National League for Democracy which won a landslide victory in 1990 and recognise the essential role of its leader, Aung San Suu Kyi.

Suu Kyi has been barred from politics and under detention for nearly two decades since her homecoming from abroad in 1988.

However, after holding the first controversial polls in twenty years last November, the military junta handed over power to a namesake civilian government in March. Former junta’s prime-minister, Thein Sein, changed his uniform and became president in the new so-called civilian government. Since then, Thein Sein has introduced some reforms and started a dialogue with the Nobel Peace Prize laureate and General-Secretary of the NLD, Aung San Suu Kyi.

Before the 2010 polls, the National League for Democracy (NLD) party was officially banned for boycotting last year’s election and was struggling as an official party through legally recognized process.

Aung San Suu Kyi and Burma’s Labor and Social Welfare Minister Aung Kyi will meet at Sein Lei Kan Tha state guest house today afternoon. It will be the fourth meeting between them after the new government was formed. Some observers believe that the release of political prisoners and party re-registration issues are likely to be included in this fourth meeting. Suu Kyi also had a rare meeting with President Thein Sein in the capital, Naypyitaw, in August.

The NLD decided not to register itself as a political party for the 2010 election because it objected to certain laws and obligations involved, including the requirement that a registered political party “preserve and protect” the 2008 Constitution.

The previous junta’s political party registration law has been changed in the Parliament on 27 October mentioning that “a political party shall respect the Constitution.”

Recently, Parliament passed a suggestion to make changes to three clauses of the Political Parties Registration Law. NLD spokesman, Nyan Win, said the party was likely to get re-registered under an amended party registration law that removed the clauses that NLD had pointed out as inappropriate and undemocratic.

In an interview with Radio Free Asia (Burmese Service), Nyan Win said that he thinks she (Suu Kyi) may stand in a by-election if the law was amended. “I personally want her to do so,” he added.

Even though, if she decides to stand in the by-election after the law was amended, she may need to have the consent of the NLD Central Executive Committee. The next by-elections are set to be held later this year.

According to some analysts, the government’s reforms, including a rare meeting between Suu Kyi and President Thein Sein and the recent release of over 200 political prisoners, are intended for shedding Burma’s friendless situation and giving it some reliability with the international community, especially the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN), of which Burma is a member.

In keeping with one NLD spokesman, the party has had no knowledge of the fourth meeting with Aung Kyi, but welcomed the government’s move to engage with Aung San Suu Kyi.

In frequent media interviews, Suu Kyi expressed her aspiration to hold talks with the new government to press for some changes to help the people of Burma. Well-informed sources close to the government said that the government wanted Suu Kyi and members of her party in parliament to give itself legitimacy.

Most Burma watchers believe that the participation of some NLD legislators, including Suu Kyi in the existing parliament, would definitely improve the military-dominated government’s image and legitimacy.

Analysts say it is expected that Burma’s military-backed rulers are aware of Suu Kyi’s influence on the international community and realize her contribution as essential, not only to gain an ASEAN Chair in 2014, but also to end Western sanctions which have been squeezing the country’s economic development since 1988.