Myanmar holds its last election round with army already certain to keep control over government

Voting began on Sunday in Myanmar in the final round of a three-stage general election, capping a nearly month-long process that has already ensured the country’s military rulers and their allies will command a parliamentary majority to form a new government.

Critics say the polls are neither free nor fair and are designed to legitimise the military’s grip on power after it ousted the elected civilian government of Aung San Suu Kyi in February 2021.

The army-backed Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP) has already won most of the seats contested in the first two rounds of voting. Twenty-five per cent of the seats in the upper and lower houses of the national parliament are reserved for the military, guaranteeing it and its allies control of the legislature.

Senior Gen. Min Aung Hlaing, who heads the current military government, is widely expected by both supporters and opponents to assume the presidency when the new parliament meets.

Critics call the polls a sham

Critics say the polls, held under strict restrictions on public criticism, are an effort to legitimise the military’s power after Min Aung Hlaing led the 2021 ouster of Suu Kyi’s government.

The takeover triggered widespread opposition that dragged Myanmar into a civil war. Security concerns engendered by the fighting meant voting was not held in more than one-fifth of the country’s 330 townships, another reason the process has been described as neither free nor fair.

Malaysian Foreign Minister Mohamad Hasan told Parliament on Tuesday that the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, of which Myanmar is a member, did not send observers and would not certify the election, citing concerns over the lack of inclusive and free participation.

His comments were the first clear statement that the 11-member regional bloc will not recognise the election results.

Observers have been sent from Russia, China, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Nicaragua, Vietnam and Cambodia, all seen as authoritarian states, as well as India and Japan, regarded as democratic.

Suu Kyi, Myanmar’s 80-year-old former leader, and her party are not participating in the polls. She is serving a 27-year prison term on charges widely viewed as spurious and politically motivated. Her party, the National League for Democracy, was forced to dissolve in 2023 after refusing to register under new military rules.

Other parties also refused to register or declined to run under conditions they deem unfair, while opposition groups called for a voter boycott.

A new Election Protection Law imposed harsh penalties for most public criticism of the polls, with the authorities charging more than 400 people recently for activities such as leafleting or online activity.

The previous two rounds of voting were disrupted by armed groups opposed to military rule carrying out attacks on polling stations and government buildings in several townships, killing at least two administrative officials, according to the reports by the military government.

Voting on Sunday began at 6 am in 61 townships across six regions and three states, including many areas that have seen clashes in recent months.

No voting in many areas beset by fighting

The election is being held in three phases due to ongoing armed conflict. The first two rounds took place on December 28 and January 11 in 202 of the country’s 330 townships.

A total of 67 townships, mostly controlled by armed opposition groups - did not participate, reducing the number of contested seats in the 664-member national parliament to 586.

Final results for all parliamentary seats are expected later this week. The military government has announced that parliament will convene in March, with the new government assuming office in April.

The party holding a majority in the combined upper and lower houses can select the president, who then appoints a cabinet and forms the government.

Figures released by the Union Election Commission after the first two rounds show the USDP won 233 seats. Combined with the 166 seats reserved for the military, the bloc already controls just under 400 seats, well above the 294 needed to form a government.

Seventeen other parties have won between one and 10 seats each.

More than 4,800 candidates from 57 political parties are competing for seats in national and regional legislatures, although only six parties are contesting nationwide. The military government says more than 24 million people are eligible to vote, about 35 per cent fewer than in 2020. Turnout in the first two rounds was reported at between 50 and 60 per cent.