People’s Party chairman loses Lanmadaw seat as USDP dominates final election phase

Mizzima

Ko Ko Gyi, the prominent Chairman of the People’s Party (PP) and a former leader of the 88 Generation Students, has been defeated in his bid for the Lanmadaw Township Pyithu Hluttaw seat, party officials confirmed on Monday.

“Ko Ko Gyi has lost. As usual, Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP) secured victory with a strong lead from advance votes. The exact number of votes for Ko Ko Gyi is still being counted, so we do not yet know the final figures,” Party Secretary 1 Kyaw Kyaw Htwe told Mizzima.

Yan Myo Aung Thein of the military-backed Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP) secured the seat, reportedly bolstered by a significant margin of advance votes – a factor the People’s Party has flagged as a source of “many controversies.”

The defeat in Lanmadaw was part of a broader sweep by the USDP in Yangon’s third phase election, where the People’s Party also lost contested seats in Kyauktan and Sanchaung townships. While the PP managed to secure a total of eight seats during the first two phases, the final round on 25 January saw the party struggle against the USDP’s well-funded and military-supported machinery.

The PP, USDP, National Unity Party (NUP), and People’s Pioneer Party (PPP) contested the constituency. Detailed vote counts for each party have not yet been released.

The third round of elections organized by the junta was held on 25 January in 61 townships. Residents in Yangon reported low voter turnout.

In the first and second rounds of the elections, held on 28 December and 11 January, the People’s Party won one seat in the Amyotha Hluttaw Assembly and seven seats in regional and state Hluttaws.

The military-backed USDP won the majority of seats in the elections. According to the junta’s Union Election Commission (UEC), the party has won 181 seats in the Pyithu Hluttaw, 52 seats in the Amyotha Hluttaw, and 238 seats in regional or state Hluttaws.

Political parties have said the elections were marred by problems related to voter lists and advance voting.

U Ko Ko Gyi, a former 88 Generation student leader, also contested the 2020 general election for the South Okkalapa Township seat during the National League for Democracy (NLD) government but was unsuccessful.