Myanmar’s new parliament, due to convene in March, will be dominated almost entirely by the military‑backed Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP), following a tightly controlled election that has sidelined all opposition. The vote, staged in December and January, came after the junta dissolved the popular National League for Democracy (NLD) and imprisoned its leaders, President U Win Myint and State Counselor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi.

Although official results have yet to be released, tallies show the USDP sweeping all three phases of the election. The party has already claimed victory, presenting the outcome as a decisive mandate. In reality, the new legislature will be stacked with retired generals, junta ministers, and loyalist families, many of whom have been directly linked to crackdowns, war crimes, and pro‑military propaganda.

At the forefront is USDP chairman Khin Yi, a former police chief notorious for his role in suppressing pro‑democracy protests. His deputy, retired air force chief General Myat Hein, also secured a seat in the capital. Other prominent figures include Maung Myint, known for inflammatory rhetoric against Suu Kyi, and Hla Swe, sanctioned by the US and EU for openly encouraging violence. Both have ties to Pyu Saw Htee militias, armed groups aligned with the junta.

Several serving ministers will now enter parliament, among them Prime Minister Nyo Saw, who chairs the military’s sprawling business empire, and Aung Lin Dwe, tipped to become Upper House speaker. Their presence underscores the merging of military, political, and economic power under Min Aung Hlaing’s regime.

The chamber will also feature sons of former dictators and loyalist families, such as Aye Chan, son of Soe Thane, and Nanda Kyaw Swar, son of Ne Win confidant Tin Pe. Their inclusion highlights the regime’s reliance on dynastic networks to reinforce its grip.

With the USDP set to dominate all chambers, Myanmar’s parliament will be the most militarised and least representative in decades. Rather than serving as a democratic institution, it appears designed to rubber‑stamp military rule, offering a façade of legitimacy while the junta continues its war against the population.

The March sitting will mark not a new chapter in Myanmar’s democratic journey, but a consolidation of authoritarian power under the guise of parliamentary process. Readers will be watching closely to see how this legislature functions — and whether it can be anything more than a tool of the generals.

-2026-01-30

Democratic nations around the world need to stop treating these guys as if they were legitimate, and start acting with some moral backbone, and start treating them like pariahs.

They are genocidal, drug dealing rapists, who are land-grabbing thieves, and deserve no respect from anyone.

The undemocratic faces of evil - corruption, scams, genocide etc.!