Myanmar election won by military-backed party in widely condemned poll marred by violence

The Union Solidarity and Development Party, backed by Myanmar’s ruling military, has won the country’s general election.The poll has been widely condemned because of the use of threats and violence to get people to vote and the sweeping limitations on freedoms. Myanmar state media reported the result on Friday, local time.

Myanmar’s military-backed party has won the country’s general election in a process widely criticised by human rights groups and some Western countries for being neither free nor fair.

The Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP) dominated all phases of the vote, winning an overwhelming majority in Myanmar’s two legislative chambers, regime media reported.

AFP reported that the party had won just over 80 per cent of the vote, while Reuters reported that they had won 341 of the available 420 seats across both houses of parliament.

However, the U.N. accused the military of using violence and threats to coerce people to the ballot box.

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 the U.N.