Myanmar’s military holds second phase of elections amid civil war

Polls person opened successful 100 townships crossed the country, with the subject claiming 52 percent turnout successful the archetypal round.

Myanmar has resumed voting successful the 2nd signifier of the three-part wide elections amid a raging civilian warfare and allegations the polls are designed to legitimise subject rule.

Polling stations opened astatine 6am section clip connected Sunday (23:30 GMT connected Saturday) crossed 100 townships successful parts of Sagaing, Magway, Mandalay, Bago and Tanintharyi regions, arsenic good arsenic Mon, Shan, Kachin, Kayah and Kayin states.

Recommended Stories

• list 1 of 4Video: What bash Rohingya refugees deliberation astir Myanmar’s election?
• list 2 of 4Myanmar subject reports 50 percent turnout successful archetypal predetermination phase
• list 3 of 4Abandoned Myanmar municipality shows occupation of predetermination successful wartime
• list 4 of 4Myanmar pro-military enactment claims immense pb successful contentious elections

Many of those areas person seen clashes successful caller months oregon stay nether heightened security.

Myanmar has been ravaged by struggle since the subject ousted ⁠a civilian authorities successful a 2021 coup and arrested its leader, Nobel Peace Prize victor Aung San Suu Kyi, starring to ​a civilian warfare that has engulfed ample parts of the impoverished federation of 51 cardinal people.

Aung San Suu Kyi’s ‍National League for Democracy party, which swept the past predetermination successful 2020, has been dissolved on with dozens of different antimilitary parties for failing to registry for the latest polls.

The predetermination is taking spot successful 3 phases due to the fact that of the ongoing conflict. The archetypal signifier unfolded connected December 28 successful 102 of the country’s 330 townships, portion a 3rd circular is scheduled for January 25.

Some 65 townships volition not enactment owed to ongoing clashes.

The subject claimed a 52 percent elector turnout aft the December 28 vote, portion the pro-military Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP), which analysts accidental is simply a civilian proxy for the military, said it won much than 80 percent of seats contested successful the little location of the legislature.

Voters enactment up to formed their ballots astatine a polling presumption during the 2nd signifier of the wide elections successful Mandalay, cardinal Myanmar, January 11, 2026 [Aung Shine Oo/AP Photo]

“The USDP is connected way for a landslide victory, which is hardly a astonishment fixed the grade to which the playing tract was tilted successful ​its favour. This included the removal of immoderate superior rivals and a acceptable of ‌laws designed to stifle absorption to the polls,” said Richard Horsey, elder Myanmar advisor for Crisis Group.

Myanmar has a two-house nationalist legislature, totalling 664 seats. The enactment with a combined parliamentary bulk tin prime the caller president, who tin prime a furniture and signifier a caller government. The subject automatically receives 25 percent of seats successful each location nether the constitution.

On Sunday morning, radical successful Yangon, the country’s largest city, formed their ballots astatine schools, authorities offices and spiritual buildings, including successful Aung San Suu Kyi’s erstwhile constituency of Kawhmu, located astir 25km (16 miles) southbound of the city.

As she exited her polling station, 54-year-old husbandman Than Than Sint told the AFP quality bureau she voted due to the fact that she wants bid successful Myanmar, adjacent though she knows it volition travel dilatory fixed the fractured country’s “problems”.

Still, “I deliberation things volition beryllium amended aft the election”, she said.

Others were little enthusiastic. A 50-year-old nonmigratory of Yangon, who asked to stay anonymous for information reasons, said, “The results prevarication lone successful the rima of the military.”

“People person precise small involvement successful this election,” the idiosyncratic added. “This predetermination has perfectly thing to bash with escaping this suffering.”

The United Nations and quality rights groups person called the elections a “sham” that effort to sanitise the military’s image.

Tom Andrews, the UN peculiar rapporteur connected the concern of quality rights successful Myanmar, said earlier this week that the predetermination was “not a free, fair, nor morganatic election” by “all measures”.

“It is simply a theatrical show that has exerted tremendous unit connected the radical of Myanmar to enactment successful what has been designed to dupe the planetary community,” Andrews said.

Laws enacted by the military up of the ballot person made protestation oregon disapproval of the elections punishable by up to 10 years successful prison. More than 200 radical presently look charges nether the measure, the UN said, citing authorities media.

Separately, astatine slightest 22,000 radical are presently being detained successful Myanmar for governmental offences, according to the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners.