Myanmar votes in second phase of military-run election

Voters in war-torn Myanmar queued up on Sunday to cast their ballots in the second stage of a military-run election, following low turnout in the initial round of polls that have been widely criticized as a tool to formalize regime rule.

Myanmar has been ravaged by conflict since the military ousted a civilian government in a 2021 coup and detained its leader, Nobel Peace Prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi, sparking a civil war that has engulfed large parts of the impoverished nation of 51 million people.

Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy (NLD) party, which swept the last election in 2020, has been dissolved along with dozens of other anti-military parties for failing to register for the latest polls, while rebel groups have refused to take part.

The United Nations, many Western countries and human rights groups say the election is a sham exercise that is neither free, fair nor credible in the absence of a meaningful opposition.

Army allies marching toward victory

The military-proxy Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP) is leading by a huge margin after winning 90 of the 102 lower house seats contested in the first phase on December 28, which saw only 52.13 per cent voter turnout, much lower than elections in 2020 and 2015.

“The USDP is on track for a landslide victory, which is hardly a surprise given the extent to which the playing field was tilted in its favour. This included the removal of any serious rivals and a set of laws designed to stifle opposition to the polls,” said Richard Horsey, Senior Myanmar Adviser for Crisis Group.