Myanmar holds final election round, military-backed party set to win

Polls person opened successful Myanmar for the 3rd and last circular of a controversial wide election, with a military-backed enactment connected people for a landslide triumph amid a raging civilian war.

Voting began successful 60 townships, including successful the cities of Yangon and Mandalay, astatine 6am section clip connected Sunday (23:30 GMT, Saturday).

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Critics accidental the polls are neither escaped nor fair, and are designed to legitimise subject regularisation successful Myanmar, astir 5 years aft the country’s generals ousted the elected authorities of Aung San Suu Kyi, starring to a civilian warfare that has killed thousands and displaced much than 3.5 cardinal people.

Aung San Suu Kyi remains successful detention and, similar respective different absorption groups, her National League for Democracy (NLD) has been dissolved, tilting the governmental playing tract successful favour of the military-backed Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP), which is leading successful the polls.

So far, the USDP has secured 193 retired of 209 seats successful the little house, and 52 retired of 78 seats successful the precocious house, according to the predetermination commission.

That means that on with the military, which is allocated 166 seats, the 2 already clasp conscionable nether 400 seats, comfortably surpassing the 294 needed to travel to power.

Seventeen different parties person won a tiny fig of seats successful the legislature, ranging from 1 to 10, according to the predetermination commission.

Senior General Min Aung Hlaing, who heads the existent subject government, is wide expected by some supporters and opponents to presume the presidency erstwhile the caller parliament meets.

The subject has announced that the parliament volition beryllium convened successful March, and the caller authorities volition instrumentality up its duties successful April.

While the subject has pledged that the predetermination volition instrumentality powerfulness to the people, rights monitors said the run-up was beset with coercion and the crushing of dissent, informing that the ballot volition lone tighten the military’s grip connected power.

A caller Election Protection Law imposed harsh penalties for astir nationalist disapproval of the polls, with the authorities charging much than 400 radical precocious for activities specified arsenic leafleting oregon online activity.

Ahead of the 3rd circular of voting, Tom Andrews, the UN peculiar rapporteur connected quality rights successful Myanmar, besides called for the rejection of its outcome, calling it “fraudulent”.

“Only an illegitimate authorities tin look from an illegitimate election,” helium wrote connected X connected Saturday.

“As Myanmar’s predetermination ends, the satellite indispensable cull it arsenic fraudulent portion rejecting what follows arsenic simply subject regularisation successful civilian clothing.”

Malaysian Minister of Foreign Affairs Mohamad Hasan told Parliament connected Tuesday that the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), of which Myanmar is simply a member, did not nonstop observers and would not certify the election, citing concerns implicit the deficiency of inclusive and escaped participation.

His comments were the archetypal wide connection that the 11-member determination bloc volition not recognise the predetermination results.

In Myanmar’s 2nd metropolis of Mandalay, Zaw Ko Ko Myint, a 53-year-old teacher, formed his ballot astatine a precocious schoolhouse astir dawn.

“Although I bash not expect much, we privation to spot a amended country,” helium told the AFP quality agency. “I consciousness relieved aft voting, arsenic if I fulfilled my duty.”

The erstwhile 2 phases of the predetermination person been marked by debased elector turnout of astir 55 percent, good ⁠below the turnout of astir 70 percent recorded successful Myanmar’s 2020 and 2015 wide elections.

Official results are expected precocious this week, but the USDP could assertion triumph arsenic soon arsenic Monday.

Aung San Suu Kyi’s NLD thrashed the USDP successful the past elections successful 2020, earlier the subject seized powerfulness connected February 1, 2021.

According to the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners, which monitors quality rights abuses successful the country, astatine slightest 7,705 radical person been killed since the outbreak of the civilian war, portion 22,745 stay detained.

But the Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project, a monitoring radical that tallies media reports of violence, estimates much than 90,000 person been killed connected each sides of the conflict.