Military-proxy Union Solidarity and Development Party ‘wins’ in Rakhine State

The Arakan Front Party (AFP) and the Rakhine Nationalities Party lost to the military-proxy Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP) in the capital Sittwe and Kyaukphyu townships, located 317 miles (510 km) south of Sittwe, after ballots were reportedly counted following the end of the first phase of the regime’s 2025-26 election on Sunday, residents told DVB.

A resident who monitored elections in Sittwe told DVB on the condition of anonymity that the AFP won the state parliament and the Amyotha Hluttaw, or the upper house of parliament, seat for Manaung Township. The Rakhine Nationalities Party scored one seat in the Pyithu Hluttaw, or the lower house of parliament, for Manaung.

The AFP was founded by an Arakan nationalist politician Aye Maung in 2018. The regime’s Union Election Commission (UEC) approved the registration of the Kyaukphyu-based Rakhine Nationalities Party on Aug. 4.