Myanmar’s military-backed Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP) has taken a commanding lead after the first phase of a controversial general election, according to early results cited by state media and reported by Reuters. The vote marks the country’s first election since the army seized power in a 2021 coup that ousted the elected government and plunged Myanmar into prolonged conflict.
Partial results released by the Union Election Commission for 56 constituencies showed the USDP, led by retired generals, winning by a wide margin despite low voter turnout. Reuters reported that the party secured 38 of the 40 seats declared so far in the Pyithu Hluttaw, the lower house of parliament. The Shan Nationalities Democratic Party, also known as the White Tiger Party, and the Mon Unity Party each won one seat.
The junta-backed party also dominated regional and state assemblies, winning 14 of the 15 State Hluttaw seats counted under the first-past-the-post system, with the Akha National Development Party taking the remaining seat. For the upper house, the Amyotha Hluttaw, only one result has been declared so far, won by the Wa National Party.
The election, which the military has said will restore political stability, has been widely criticised by the United Nations, Western governments, and human rights organisations. Reuters noted that anti-junta political parties are barred from contesting the polls and that criticism of the election is illegal. The military-installed election commission has not disclosed how many constituencies voted in the first phase, instead releasing results on a rolling, constituency-by-constituency basis.
The junta said on Wednesday that about 52% of eligible voters cast ballots in the first round, a figure well below the roughly 70% turnout recorded in the 2015 and 2020 general elections, according to data from the U.S.-based International Foundation for Electoral Systems. Two further rounds of voting are scheduled for January 11 and January 25, covering 265 of Myanmar’s 330 townships, including areas where the military does not exercise full control.
Aung San Suu Kyi, the Nobel Peace Prize laureate whose National League for Democracy won the 2020 election in a landslide, remains detained, and her party has been dissolved. Analysts cited by Reuters say the junta’s attempt to create a stable government amid ongoing armed conflict carries significant risks and that any administration emerging from the polls is unlikely to gain broad international recognition.
