The military-backed Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP) won a landslide victory in Myanmar's just-concluded national elections, but the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), an alliance of 11 Southeast Asian nations, has yet to recognize the election.
Myanmar's national election was held in three phases. Voting began in late December and ended last week. The USDP won a majority in both the lower and upper houses of parliament. The party won 232 out of 263 seats in the lower house, the Pyithu Hluttaw, and 109 out of 157 in the upper house, the Myotha Hluttaw. The results were announced on Thursday and Friday, state media reported today.
The USDP has long been a loyalist of the Myanmar military. The party's chairman is a retired brigadier general, and many of its top officials are former high-ranking military officers.
The Myanmar military seized power in a military coup in February 2021, overthrowing the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi. Within weeks, guerrilla warfare broke out in the country. Over time, the anti-junta insurgency has grown in scope and intensity. It has also involved many of the country's old rebel groups. According to the United Nations, about 3.6 million people have been displaced in Myanmar's civil war.
The head of the military and junta, Min Aung Hlaing, personally supervised the entire election process. Many important parties, including Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy (NLD), did not participate in the controversial election.
Due to the civil war, voting was not held in many administrative divisions (townships) of Myanmar. The lack of voting in areas controlled by various rebel groups has raised questions about the legitimacy of the election. Human rights organizations and international monitoring organizations say the election was not 'free and fair'. The election was organized to legitimize military rule.
The United Nations said that many minority communities, including the Rohingya, were unable to vote in this year's election, and that at least 170 civilians were killed and nearly 400 were detained in airstrikes during the election.
ASEAN did not recognize
According to a report by Al Jazeera, the Philippines, which currently serves as the chair of ASEAN, said yesterday that ASEAN has not yet recognized the three-phase elections in Myanmar.
Lazaro said ASEAN has yet to reach a final agreement or position on Myanmar's elections. Although voting has been completed in three phases, the entire election process is not yet complete.
Yesterday, the first major ASEAN ministerial meeting of the year was held in Cebu City, Philippines. The political situation in Myanmar was one of the main topics of discussion at the meeting. Lazaro made these remarks while speaking at a press conference after the meeting.
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