Myanmar holds its last election round with the army already certain to keep control over government

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YANGON, Myanmar (AP) — Voting began on Sunday in Myanmar in the final round of a three-stage general election, capping a nearly monthlong process that has already ensured the country’s military rulers and their allies will command a parliamentary majority to form a new government.

Critics say the polls are neither free not fair, and are designed to legitimize the power of the military after it ousted the elected civilian government of Aung San Suu Kyi in February 2021.

The army-backed Union Solidarity and Development Party, or USDP, has already won most of the seats contested in the first two rounds of voting. Twenty-five percent of the seats in the upper and lower houses of the national Parliament are reserved for the military, guaranteeing it and its allies control of the legislature.

Senior Gen. Min Aung Hlaing, who heads the current military government, is widely expected by both supporters and opponents to assume the presidency when the new Parliament meets.

Critics say the polls, held under strict restrictions on public criticism, are an effort to legitimize the military’s power after Min Aung Hlaing led the 2021 ouster of Suu Kyi’s government.

The takeover triggered widespread opposition that dragged Myanmar into a civil war. Security concerns engendered by the fighting meant voting was not held in more than one-fifth of the country’s 330 townships, another reason the process has been described as neither free nor fair.

Malaysian Foreign Minister Mohamad Hasan told Parliament on Tuesday that the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, of which Myanmar is a member, did not send observers and would not certify the election, citing concerns over the lack of inclusive and free participation.

His comments were the first clear statement that the 11-member regional bloc will not recognize the election results.

Observers have been sent from Russia, China, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Nicaragua, Vietnam and Cambodia, all seen as authoritarian states, as well as India and Japan, regarded as democratic.

Suu Kyi, Myanmar’s 80-year-old former leader, and her party are not participating in the polls. She is serving a 27-year prison term on charges widely viewed as spurious and politically motivated. Her party, the National League for Democracy, was forced to dissolve in 2023 after refusing to register under new military rules.

Other parties also refused to register or declined to run under conditions they deem unfair, while opposition groups called for a voter boycott.

A new Election Protection Law imposed harsh penalties for most public criticism of the polls, with the authorities charging more than 400 people recently for activities such as leafleting or online activity.

The previous two rounds of voting were disrupted by armed groups opposed to military rule carrying out attacks on polling stations and government buildings in several townships, killing at least two administrative officials, according to the reports by the military government.

Voting on Sunday began at 6 a.m. in 61 townships across six regions and three states, including many areas that have seen clashes in recent months.

The election is being held in three phases due to the armed conflict. The first two rounds took place on Dec. 28 and Jan. 11 in 202 of the country’s 330 townships. A total of 67 townships – mostly areas controlled by armed opposing groups – did not participate, reducing the original seats in the 664-member national parliament to 586.

Final results for all parliament seats are expected to be announced later this week. The military government has announced that Parliament will be convened in March, and the new government will take up its duties in April.

The party with a majority in the combined upper and lower houses of Parliament can select the new president, who in turn names a Cabinet and forms a new government.

Figures released by the Union Election Commission after the first two rounds showed the USDP won 233 seats in Parliament’s two chambers. That means that along with the military, which is allocated 166 seats, the two already hold just under 400 seats, comfortably surpassing the 294 needed to come to power.

Seventeen other parties have won a small number of seats in the legislature, ranging from one to 10.

More than 4,800 candidates from 57 political parties are competing for seats in national and regional legislatures, though only six are contesting nationwide. The military government said there are more than 24 million eligible voters, about 35% fewer than in 2020. The turnout in the first two rounds of voting was between 50% and 60%, it announced.

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Peck reported from Bangkok.