Myanmar pro-military party claims huge lead in contentious elections

As a result of criticism from Myanmar’s main pro-military party, critics claim that the tightly controlled vote is intended to strengthen the ruling party’s position. The country’s military rulers have already seized the lead in the first phase of elections.

On January 11 and January 25, the first round of voting will take place on Sunday. In 65 townships, voting has been canceled.

In townships where counting had been completed, a senior official from the Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP) claimed victory over 82 of the 102 seats in the lower house of the legislature, suggesting it had secured more than 80% of the seats contested on Sunday.

The party also won all eight townships in Naypyidaw, the party’s main town, the official added. The Union Election Commission of Myanmar has not yet released official statistics.

Campaign groups have criticised candidate lists that are dominated by figures affiliated with the military, while the UN’s human rights chief has criticized the elections.

Only about a third of Myanmar’s 330 townships were able to vote in the elections, which is because of fighting between the military and opposition forces following the military coup that overthrew the Aung San Suu Kyi-led government in 2021.

The USDP is anticipated to be the party with the most support. It has long been viewed as a civilian replacement for the military by analysts.

The USDP lost significantly to Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy (NLD) in the previous elections held in 2020. Campaigners in the United Kingdom claim that the NLD is one of the 40 political parties that the military has outlawed. Since the military seized power, Suu Kyi has been in custody.

The military government’s leader, Min Aung Hlaing, said it was possible to trust the military to appoint a civilian-led government after the election ended on Sunday. Since the coup, he has been in power by decree.

As pro-democracy activists formed armed resistance groups alongside ethnic minority forces that have long fought the central government, the military takeover sparked a nationwide civil war.