Myanmar’s military authorities have declared the first phase of the country’s controversial national elections a success, claiming that more than half of registered voters took part. The announcement comes despite widespread condemnation from rights groups and foreign governments, which have dismissed the process as illegitimate.
Military spokesperson Zaw Min Tun said on Sunday (December 28) that around 52 percent of eligible voters more than six million people cast ballots in the opening stage of the three-phase election, according to Al Jazeera. The vote took place amid an intensifying civil war and severe restrictions on political freedoms across much of the country.
The pro-junta Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP) announced it had secured a sweeping victory in the areas where voting was held. A senior party official claimed the USDP, widely viewed as a civilian extension of the military leadership and led by former generals, won over 80 percent of the contested seats in the lower house of parliament.
However, international observers and human rights organisations have sharply criticised the polls, branding them a “sham” conducted under conditions of violence, repression, and fear. United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk said on December 23 that the elections were taking place in an environment that made free political participation impossible.
“There are no conditions for freedom of expression, association or peaceful assembly that would allow for genuine participation by the people,” Türk said, warning that the process lacked any democratic credibility.
Voter participation was also significantly lower than in Myanmar’s last general election in 2020, when turnout stood at approximately 70 percent before the military annulled the results and seized power in a coup the following year.
Despite the criticism, junta officials defended the turnout figures, arguing that participation rates below 50 percent are common even in established democracies. Zaw Min Tun described the outcome as a “source of pride,” insisting the election represented a national achievement rather than a victory for the ruling authorities.
“This successful election is not the triumph of the government,” he said. “It is the victory of our country and its people.”
Voting on Sunday was conducted in only about one-third of Myanmar’s 330 townships, as ongoing fighting between military forces and resistance groups has left vast areas inaccessible. The next phases of the election are scheduled for January 11 and January 25 and are expected to cover 265 townships, although the military does not maintain full control over all of them.
The Asian Network for Free Elections noted that Myanmar’s election laws do not set a minimum voter turnout requirement, allowing authorities to proceed regardless of participation levels.
Meanwhile, Nobel Peace Prize laureate Aung San Suu Kyi remains in detention after being removed from power following her National League for Democracy’s landslide victory in 2020. The party has since been dissolved, effectively eliminating the country’s most popular political force from the electoral process.
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