Myanmar concluded its month-long marathon election today with the military's representative party poised for a decisive victory amid a civil war and crackdown on dissent. Analysts say this is merely an attempt to legitimize Min Aung Hlaing's rise to the presidency.
At 06:00 local time today (25 Jan), polling stations across dozens of districts in Myanmar opened for the third and final phase of the prolonged general election. In major cities like Yangon and Mandalay, some citizens queued early in the morning under tight security.
However, this election occurred just one week before the fifth anniversary of the 1 February 2021 coup and did not take place in areas controlled by opposition and ethnic armed groups, which cover over one-fifth of all electoral districts nationwide.
In the first two rounds, the Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP), representing the military, secured over 85% of seats in the House of Representatives and two-thirds of the ethnic assembly seats. Nonetheless, Myanmar's constitution reserves 25% of parliamentary seats for the military without election.
The ACLED organization estimates over 90,000 deaths from violence since the coup, with more than 400 prosecuted for opposing or criticizing the election. The military government's new laws impose prison terms up to 10 years; even reacting with a "heart" emoji to critical posts can lead to arrest.
Voter turnout in the first two phases was only 50%, a sharp decline from 70% in 2020.
A Yangon resident speaking anonymously to AFP said, "I expect nothing; everything will just drag on like this." Another voter said they reluctantly voted under pressure but chose any party other than the USDP as a symbolic protest, knowing the outcome in advance.
Meanwhile, 80-year-old Nobel Peace Prize laureate Aung San Suu Kyi remains detained in a secret location with no communication, and her National League for Democracy (NLD) party has been dissolved. Pro-democracy supporters see the election as a "performance" to legitimize Senior General Min Aung Hlaing's presidency.
One candidate revealed there was almost no campaigning due to insecurity from ongoing fighting and airstrikes, estimating that only 10% of polling stations in their district could actually operate.
Official election results are expected by the end of the week, but the USDP is likely to declare victory as early as Monday.
/AFP