Myanmar election delivers victory for military-backed party amid civil war

Myanmar’s military-backed party has completed a sweeping victory in the country’s three-phase general election, regime media reported, cementing an outcome long expected after a tightly controlled political process held during civil war and widespread repression.

The Union and Solidarity Party (USDP) dominated all phases of the vote, winning an overwhelming majority in Myanmar’s two legislative chambers. It secured 232 of the 263 seats up for grabs in the lower Pyithu Hluttaw house and 109 of the 157 seats announced so far in the Amyotha Hluttaw upper chamber, according to results released on Thursday and Friday.

Myanmar’s parliament is expected to convene in March to elect a president, with a new government set to take over in April, pro-military media reported earlier this month, citing regime spokesperson Zaw Min Tun.

The final round of voting in late January brought an end to an election that began on December 28, more than four years after the military seized power in a coup that overturned the elected government of Nobel Peace Prize laureate Aung San Suu Kyi.

Myanmar has been in political turmoil since the coup, with the crushing of pro-democracy protests sparking a nationwide rebellion. Around 3.6 million people have been displaced, according to United Nations.