SAEDNEWS: Myanmar's junta said slightly more than half of eligible voters cast their ballot in the first phase of a three-stage national election at the weekend, a figure that was markedly lower than the previous two elections.
The election is the first since the 2021 military coup and is taking place during an ongoing civil war. Analysts expect the military-aligned Union Solidarity and Development Party, led by retired generals, to return to power, Reuters reported.
The United Nations, several Western governments, and human rights organizations say the vote is neither free nor fair, arguing that anti-junta political parties have been excluded and that criticizing the election is illegal.
Zaw Min Tun, a spokesperson for the military authorities, told state media that more than six million people — 52.13 percent of registered voters — cast ballots on Sunday across 102 townships.
“Even in developed democratic nations, there are situations where voter turnout does not exceed 50 percent,” he said, calling the turnout a “source of pride.”
By comparison, turnout in Myanmar’s 2020 and 2015 general elections was about 70 percent, according to the U.S.-based International Foundation for Electoral Systems.
Additional rounds of voting are scheduled for January 11 and January 25 in 265 of Myanmar’s 330 townships. However, the military does not fully control all of those areas.
The Asian Network for Free Elections, which monitors voting in the region, said Myanmar’s election law sets no minimum turnout requirement.
Aung San Suu Kyi, the Nobel Peace Prize laureate who was removed from power after her National League for Democracy won a landslide victory in 2020, remains in detention. The party she once led has since been dissolved.
