Myanmar military party claims sweeping win

Myanmar’s pro-military Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP) has declared a commanding lead in the country’s first round of elections, a vote already condemned by campaigners and international observers as deeply flawed.

A senior USDP official told AFP the party had secured 82 of 102 seats in the lower house where counting was complete, including all eight constituencies in the capital, Naypyidaw. That would give the party more than 80 percent of the seats contested in Sunday’s ballot. Official figures have yet to be released by the Union Election Commission.

The elections, organised by Myanmar’s military rulers, are being staged in three phases, with further rounds scheduled for 11 and 25 January. Voting has been cancelled in 65 townships, leaving large parts of the country excluded due to ongoing conflict between the military and opposition forces.

The United Nations human rights chief has denounced the polls, citing a crackdown on dissent and candidate lists dominated by military-aligned figures. Campaigners argue the process is designed to entrench the military’s grip on power rather than restore democracy.

The USDP is widely seen as a civilian proxy for the armed forces. In 2020, it suffered a heavy defeat to Aung San Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy (NLD). Since the 2021 coup, Suu Kyi has been detained and the NLD banned, along with dozens of other parties.

Min Aung Hlaing, the military leader who has ruled by decree since the coup, insisted after Sunday’s vote that the armed forces could be trusted to hand power back to a civilian government. His assurances come against the backdrop of a civil war that has killed an estimated 90,000 people, displaced 3.5 million and left 22 million in need of humanitarian aid. More than 22,000 political prisoners remain behind bars, according to rights groups.

With two further rounds of voting ahead, critics say the outcome is already predetermined. The USDP’s sweeping claims underline how Myanmar’s contested elections are unfolding in the shadow of war, repression and international condemnation.

-2025-12-30