Myanmar Junta-Backed Party Set to Win Widely Criticized Election

Voters in Myanmar are casting their ballots in a general election starting on Sunday- the first in five years after a military coup toppled the last civilian government in 2021.

Citing Lalita Hanwong, a lecturer and Myanmar expert at Thailand's Kasetsart University, the Jakarta Post reported that in the election, military-aligned Union Solidarity and Development Party, led by retired generals and fielding one-fifth of all candidates against severely diminished competition, is set to return to power.

"The junta's election is designed to prolong the military's power of slavery over people," she said. "And USDP and other allied parties with the military will join forces to form the next government."

While the junta that has ruled Myanmar since then, following the initial phase on Sunday, two rounds of voting are slated to be held on January 11 and January 25, which would cover 265 of Myanmar's 330 townships, as per the Jakarta Post.

It reported that the United Nations, some countries and human rights groups saw the elections as an exercise that is not free, fair or credible, with anti-junta political parties not competing.

Jakarta Post said that the dates for counting votes and announcing election results have not been declared.

It reported that UN human rights chief Volker Turk said last week, "There are no conditions for the exercise of the rights of freedom of expression, association or peaceful assembly that allow for the free and meaningful participation of the people," said Turk.

The junta maintains that the elections provide a pathway out of the conflict, pointing to previous military-backed polls, including one in 2010 that brought in a quasi-civilian government that pushed through a series of political and economic reforms.

The polls "will turn a new page for Myanmar, shifting the narrative from a conflict-affected, crisis-laden country to a new chapter of hope for building peace and reconstructing the economy," an opinion piece in the state-run Global New Light of Myanmar said on Saturday.

Noting how the residents observed elections to be muted compared to previous election campaigns, they did not report any coercion by the military administration to push people to vote.

Amid this, the USDP was the most visible.

USDP was founded in 2010- the year it won an election which was boycotted by the opposition. As per Jakarta Post, the party ran the country with its military backers until 2015, after which Suu Kyi's NLD took over.

Large areas of Myanmar will not participate in the election due to ongoing fighting. Continued clashes between junta forces and a mix of ethnic armed groups and pro-democracy fighters have made voting impossible in several regions, particularly in border areas and parts of central Myanmar, CNN reported.

The elections are happening even as Myanmar's most popular political leader, Aung Sang Suu Kyi whose government was overthrown by the military in February 2021, remains imprisoned. Her party, the National League for Democracy (NLD), has been dissolved, effectively excluding it from the political process.

Over the past year, rebel forces have inflicted notable losses on the Junta military, briefly raising hopes among opponents that the junta's grip on power could weaken.

The military has continued its operations against opponents even as polling takes place.

The military has rejected accusations of abuse, saying it is targeting "terrorists" and maintaining that the election aims to build what it calls a "genuine, disciplined multiparty democratic system." It has dismissed international criticism of the polls.

The United States and most Western countries do not recognise the junta as Myanmar's legitimate government. Several Asian nations, including Japan and Malaysia, have also criticised the election.

- ANI