Aung San Suu Kyi’s NLD party re-registers in Burma

Aung San Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy (NLD) has applied to re-register as a political party, paving the way for her to run in Burma's upcoming elections, Agence France-Presse reported.

The NDL announced last week that it would sign up as a party again amid signs of reform in a country long dominated by the military.

(GlobalPost reports: Burma: Aung San Suu Kyi to run for parliament in by-election)

The NLD boycotted last year's polls, the first in 20 years to be held in Burma, also called Myanmar, because Suu Kyi, 66, was banned from running.

The NDL's decision to register formally as a party signals that the opposition has confidence in government reforms.

According to VOA:

The new nominally civilian government, which includes many former military rulers, took power in March.

Since then, Aung San Suu Kyi has met with government representatives several times.

In a series of conciliatory gestures, the government has halted an unpopular dam project and passed a bill that allows citizens to stage peaceful protests.

The leaders also have released about 200 political prisoners.

Also, Hillary Clinton will visit Burma — also known as Myanmar — next month, the first visit by a US secretary of state in more than 50 years.

(More from GlobalPost: Hillary Clinton to visit Myanmar (Burma)

President Barack Obama's decision to send Clinton was read as an indication that the Burma government had taken important steps toward reform.

The national electoral commission in the capital Naypyidaw is expected to take at least a week to approve the application.

Forty-eight seats will be up for grabs, though no date has been set for a vote yet.