Myanmar: Polls have opened across parts of Myanmar for the third and final round of a highly controversial general election, with the military-backed Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP) on course for a sweeping victory.
Voting began at 6am local time in 60 townships, including major cities Yangon and Mandalay. The election has been widely condemned by critics and rights groups, who say the process is designed to legitimise continued military rule nearly five years after the 2021 coup that plunged the country into conflict.
Aung San Suu Kyi remains in detention, and her National League for Democracy (NLD), which won a landslide in the 2020 elections, has been dissolved. Several other opposition groups are also barred, leaving the political field heavily tilted in favour of the military and its allies.
According to Myanmar’s election commission, the USDP has so far secured 193 of 209 seats in the lower house and 52 of 78 seats in the upper house. Combined with the 166 seats constitutionally reserved for the military, the bloc already controls close to 400 seats, comfortably exceeding the 294 needed to form a government. Seventeen smaller parties have won between one and 10 seats each.
Senior General Min Aung Hlaing, head of the military government, is widely expected to become president once the new parliament convenes. The military has said parliament will convene in March, with a new government due to assume office in April.
Rights groups and international observers have strongly criticised the vote. A new Election Protection Law has imposed severe penalties for public criticism, and authorities have reportedly charged more than 400 people in recent weeks over activities such as distributing leaflets or posting online.
Tom Andrews, the UN special rapporteur on human rights in Myanmar, called the election ‘fraudulent’ and urged the international community to reject its outcome. Malaysia’s Foreign Minister Mohamad Hasan told parliament that ASEAN would not recognise or certify the election results, citing the lack of inclusive and free participation. It marks the clearest signal yet that the regional bloc will withhold legitimacy from the process.
On the ground, some voters expressed cautious hope. Turnout in the first two phases of voting was around 55 percent, significantly lower than the roughly 70 percent recorded in the 2015 and 2020 elections. Official results are expected later this week, though the USDP could declare victory.
Since the military takeover on February 1, 2021, violence has escalated nationwide. The Assistance Association for Political Prisoners reports at least 7,705 people have been killed and more than 22,700 remain detained. Other monitoring groups estimate the death toll across all sides of the conflict could exceed 90,000, with more than 3.5 million people displaced.
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