Junta orders servicemen’s families to vote for allied party

According to insider sources within the Myanmar military, the junta has instructed its troops and their families to vote exclusively for its allied political party, the Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP), in the upcoming election.

Every battalion headquarters under the junta’s command has been warned that effective action will be taken if soldiers or their families fail to vote for the USDP.

Warnings that soldiers and their families will face action if they fail to vote for the USDP have been issued at every battalion headquarters under the junta’s command.

“The junta has already ordered its troops and their families to vote only for the USDP and has threatened severe punishment if anyone votes for another party,” a source told DMG.

The USDP is led by retired senior military generals, and some of the generals involved in the 2021 coup are planning to retire and run for the party in the upcoming election.

Analysts monitoring developments ahead of the junta-run election suggested the junta may be pressuring servicemen and their families to vote for the USDP, fearing a repeat of the party’s humiliating defeats in 2015 and 2020.