MYANMAR’S dominant pro-military Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP) is reportedly “winning a majority” in the initial phase of the country’s contested elections, a party insider told AFP on December 29, even as global democracy watchdogs warned that the vote could further entrench military rule.
The elections, opened on December 28 and scheduled to run in phases over a month, are being held under the control of the armed forces that seized power in a 2021 coup.
Officials have framed the vote as a pathway to returning authority to the people, yet the process has faced intense criticism for systematically sidelining democratic opposition.
Aung San Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy (NLD), widely popular before its dissolution by the junta, was absent from the ballot.
The pro-democracy leader remains imprisoned, a situation that has ignited civil conflict and drawn international condemnation.
Campaigners, Western diplomats, and the United Nations’ human rights chief have decried the elections, highlighting a severe crackdown on dissent and a candidate list heavily populated with military affiliates.
“The USDP is winning a majority of seats around the country according to different reports,” said a party official in the capital, Naypyidaw, speaking anonymously as they were not authorised to discuss election matters publicly.
The Union Election Commission has yet to release official results, and two additional voting phases are scheduled for January 11 and January 25.
The previous 2020 elections saw the NLD decisively defeat the USDP, a result subsequently annulled by the military, further intensifying political unrest and distrust in the electoral process.
Observers caution that the current polls, carried out under restrictive and opaque conditions, may consolidate military dominance while sidelining voices of democratic reform, heightening tensions across the country. - December 29, 2025
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