Myanmar pro-military party leads in disputed national elections

Myanmar’s Military Rulers Hold First Round of Elections

The Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP) has claimed an overwhelming lead in the first phase of elections organized by Myanmar’s military rulers. The party won 82 of 102 seats in the lower house of the legislature in townships where counting had been completed, according to a senior official from the USDP. This suggests that the party secured more than 80 percent of the seats contested in Sunday’s vote.

The official also stated that the party won all eight townships in the capital, Naypyidaw. However, official figures have yet to be published by Myanmar’s Union Election Commission. The United Nations human rights chief has condemned the elections, citing a crackdown on dissent. Campaign groups have criticized candidate lists dominated by figures aligned with the military.

The elections were held in only about a third of Myanmar’s 330 townships due to fighting between the military and opposition forces after the 2021 military coup that overthrew the elected government. The USDP is widely expected to emerge as the largest party, with analysts describing it as a civilian proxy for the military.

The last elections in 2020 saw the USDP suffer a heavy defeat to Aung San Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy (NLD). The NLD is one of 40 political parties that have been banned by the military government. Suu Kyi has been detained since the military seized power. After voting concluded on Sunday, Min Aung Hlaing, the leader of the military government, stated that the armed forces could be trusted to return power to a civilian-led government.

The conflict between the military and opposition forces has resulted in an estimated 90,000 deaths, 3.5 million displaced people, and 22 million in need of humanitarian assistance. According to the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners, more than 22,000 people are currently detained for political offenses.

Source: Al Jazeera