Myanmar’s military-backed USDP claims victory in Aung San Suu Kyi’s former constituency, as junta-run elections face widespread criticism for lacking legitimacy.
YANGON: Myanmar’s main pro-military party has claimed victory in the parliamentary seat of sidelined democratic leader Aung San Suu Kyi.
An official from the Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP) said they “won in Kawhmu”, Suu Kyi’s former constituency in the Yangon region.
The claim follows the second stage of a month-long election denounced by democracy advocates as a ploy to prolong junta rule.
The junta seized power in a 2021 coup, deposing Suu Kyi and detaining her after alleging massive fraud in her party’s landslide election win.
It says the current vote will return power to the people.
With Suu Kyi’s party dissolved and dissent crushed, critics say the ballot is rigged in favour of military allies.
The USDP official, speaking anonymously, also claimed the party won 15 out of 16 lower house seats in Yangon region.
Official results for the second round have not yet been posted by the junta-stacked election commission.
The USDP won nearly 90% of lower house seats in the election’s first phase in December.
UN rights expert Tom Andrews said the junta engineered the polls to ensure victory for its proxy.
“The junta engineered the polls to ensure victory for its proxy, entrench military domination, and manufacture a facade of legitimacy while violence and repression continue unabated,” he said.
A quarter of parliamentary seats are reserved for the armed forces under the military-drafted constitution.
The coup plunged Myanmar into a civil war, preventing voting in huge rebel-controlled territories.
Monitoring group ACLED estimates 90,000 people have been killed in the conflict on all sides.
More than 330 people are being pursued under new junta laws that punish protest or criticism of the poll with up to 10 years in prison.
Over 22,000 political prisoners are detained alongside Suu Kyi, according to advocacy groups.
