Add thelocalreport.in As A Trusted Source
Myanmar’s military-appointed electoral body has begun announcing winners in the first phase of a three-part general election, saying the military-backed party won a majority as widely expected.
Critics of the current system say the election is designed to lend legitimacy to the status quo. They accuse the polls of being neither free nor fair, with major parties excluded and a government crackdown on dissent. Opposition groups called on voters to boycott.
The junta said on Wednesday that more than 6 million people – about 52% of the more than 11 million eligible voters in the first phase of elections held on December 28 – took part in voting, calling the vote a decisive success.
However, that’s well below the roughly 70% turnout in the 2020 and 2015 elections, according to the International Electoral Systems Foundation, a U.S.-based nonprofit. The military government had Every effort is being made to force the Burmese public to go to the ballot box This time.
Federal Electoral Commission (UEC) announces in state-run elections Alin, Myanmar Newspaper reports on Saturday said the Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP) had won 38 of the 330 seats in the lower house of parliament, although many seats in the December 28 election have yet to be announced.
Another statement said USDP leader Khin Yi was the winning representative from the capital Naypyitaw constituency. He is a former general and police chief who is widely considered a close ally of military ruler General Min Aung Hlaing. He was said to have won 49,006 of the 68,681 votes cast.
According to the UEC statement, the Shan Democratic Party and the Mon Solidarity Party won one seat each.
Saturday’s announcement is still a partial result, but Gongfa leaders are confident the first phase will be a success.
A senior USDP official told The Associated Press on Saturday that the party won 88 of the 102 seats contested in the first phase.
The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to release information, said the party had no opposition and faced no challengers or opponents in the 29-constituency race.
Myanmar has a bicameral national legislative body with a total of 664 seats. The party with a majority in parliament can elect a new president, who can appoint a new president. cabinet and form a new government. Under the constitution, the military automatically gets 25% of the seats in both houses of Congress.
The USDP official said the party also won 85% of contested seats in regional legislative bodies, although full results will not be known until after the second or third phase.
Due to the ongoing armed conflict, voting was conducted in three phases, with the first round held on December 28 in 102 townships, accounting for nearly one-third of Myanmar’s 330 townships. The remaining stages will be held on January 11 and January 25, but 65 townships will not participate due to fighting.
While more than 4,800 candidates from 57 political parties are vying for seats in national and regional legislative bodies, only six parties are competing nationally with the potential to gain political influence in parliament. USDP is by far the strongest contender.
Military rule begins when soldiers overthrow an elected government Aung San Suu Kyi February 2021. Despite her National League for Democracy’s landslide victory in the 2020 election, she was unable to be re-elected.
The National League for Democracy was dissolved in 2023 along with 39 other parties after refusing to formally register under new military rules.
The takeover sparked widespread popular opposition and turned into a civil war.