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The final round of voting in Myanmar’s three-phase election began on Sunday, capping a nearly month-long process that has ensured the country’s military rulers and their allies will secure a parliamentary majority to form a new government.
Critics say the polls are neither free nor fair and are designed to legitimize the military’s power after overthrowing the elected civilian government. Aung San Suu Kyi February 2021.
The military-backed Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP) has won the majority of seats in the first two rounds of voting. The upper and lower houses of the country each hold 25% of the seats. parliament Reserved for the military, guaranteeing control of the legislature by the military and its allies.
Current junta leader Gen. Min Aung Hlaing is widely expected by supporters and opponents to become president when the new parliament convenes.
Critics call the poll a sham
Critics say the polls, held with tight limits on public criticism, are an attempt to legitimize the military’s power after Min Aung Hlaing leads the 2021 overthrow of Suu Kyi’s government.
The takeover sparked widespread opposition and plunged Myanmar into civil war. Security concerns caused by the fighting meant that more than one-fifth of the country’s 330 townships did not hold votes, another reason why the process was described as neither free nor fair.
Malaysian Foreign Minister Mohamed Hassan told parliament on Tuesday, Association of Southeast Asian NationsMyanmar is a member but has not sent observers and will not certify the election due to concerns about a lack of inclusive and free participation.
His comments were the first time it became clear that the 11-member regional bloc would not recognize the election results.
Observers came from Russia, China, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Nicaragua, Vietnam and Cambodia, all considered autocracies, and India and Japan, also considered democracies.
Myanmar’s former leader Aung San Suu Kyi, 80, and her party did not participate in the vote. She was sentenced to 27 years in prison on charges widely considered false and politically motivated. Her party, the National League for Democracy, was forced to disband in 2023 after refusing to register under new military rules.
Other parties have also refused to register or run under conditions they consider unfair, while opposition groups have called on voters to boycott.
The new Election Protection Law imposes tough penalties for most public criticism of polls, and authorities recently charged more than 400 people for activities such as leaflet distribution or online activity.
The first two rounds of voting were marred by attacks by armed groups opposed to military rule on polling stations and government buildings in several townships, killing at least two administrative officials, the junta reported.
Voting opened at 6 a.m. on Sunday in 61 townships across six regions and three states, including many areas that have seen conflict in recent months.
No votes cast in many fighting-plagued areas
Due to the armed conflict, the elections were held in three phases. The first two rounds of elections were held on December 28 and January 11 respectively in 202 of the country’s 330 towns and villages. A total of 67 communes, mainly areas controlled by the armed opposition, did not participate, reducing the original 664 seats in the National Assembly to 586.
Final results for all parliamentary seats are expected to be announced later this week. The military government has announced that parliament will convene in March and the new government will take office in April.
The party with a majority in the upper and lower houses of parliament can elect a new president, who in turn appoints a new president. cabinet and form a new government.
Data released by the Federal Election Commission after the first two rounds of elections showed that the GSD won 233 seats in both houses of parliament. This means that, together with the 166 seats allocated to the military, the two men already have nearly 400 seats, easily exceeding the 294 seats needed to govern.
Seventeen other parties won a small number of seats in the legislature, ranging from one to ten.
More than 4,800 candidates from 57 political parties are vying for seats in national and regional legislative bodies, but only six candidates are running nationally. The military government said there were more than 24 million eligible voters, about 35% less than in 2020. It announced that the turnout in the first two rounds of voting was between 50% and 60%.
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Peck reported from Bangkok.