Voting in phase two of Myanmar elections complete; Hearings begin into Rohingya genocide case at ICJ

Voting in phase two of Myanmar elections complete

A second round of voting in the military-run 2025-26 elections was held at polling stations in 100 out of Burma’s 330 townships on Sunday, according to the Union Election Commission (UEC). Residents told DVB that security was heightened as regime leader Senior General Min Aung Hlaing inspected polling stations to monitor phase two of the elections in Yangon’s Insein, Hlaing and Latha townships on Jan. 11.

Residents of Kawhmu Township, the parliamentary seat held by Aung San Suu Kyi since 2012 located 36 miles (57 km) south of Yangon, told DVB on the condition of anonymity that they felt pressured to vote. “What is happening today in Kawmhu and other National League for Democracy strongholds is not democracy. It is an attempt to rewrite the people’s will through force and fear,” Kim Aris, Aung San Suu Kyi’s son, told DVB.

Over 1.5 million eligible voters cast their ballots in 16 townships located in Yangon Region on Jan. 11. The military-proxy Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP) won 88 out of 96 seats in the Pyithu Hluttaw, or lower house of parliament, and 21 out of 31 seats in the Amyotha Hluttaw, or upper house, in the first round. A third and final phase of voting is scheduled to take place in 63 townships on Jan. 25.