Myanmar’s military rulers insist the polls were free and fair, even as the United Nations reports 170 people were killed in air attacks during the election.
Published January 31, 2026
Myanmar’s military-backed party secured a landslide victory in a three-stage general election after a tightly controlled vote held amid civil war and widespread repression, state media said.
The final of three rounds of voting was held last weekend, ending an election that began on December 28, more than four years after the military seized power in a coup that overthrew the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi.
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The Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP) won overwhelming majorities in Myanmar’s two parliaments after winning all stages of the vote, state media reported.
According to results announced Thursday and Friday, the USDP secured 232 of the 263 seats in the House of Representatives and 109 of the 157 seats announced so far in the Senate.
According to a report by the pro-military Eleven Media Group, Zaw Myint Hun, a spokesman for the country’s military junta, said Myanmar’s parliament is now expected to convene in March to elect a president and a new government to be formed in April.
Myanmar, formerly known as Burma, has been in political turmoil since a 2021 coup, with the suppression of a pro-democracy movement sparking a nationwide uprising. According to the United Nations, thousands of people have been killed and about 3.6 million people have been displaced.
“I vote purely out of fear.”
The 11-nation Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) has said it does not support Myanmar’s electoral process, and human rights groups and some Western countries have also expressed concerns about the credibility of the election.
The U.N. human rights office said large parts of the population, including ethnic minorities such as the Muslim-majority Rohingya, were excluded from voting because they had been stripped of their citizenship, and many had fled the country.
According to the United Nations, at least 170 civilians were killed and about 400 arrested in airstrikes during the election period.
“Many people chose to vote or not vote purely out of fear,” said UN human rights chief Volker Turk.
Myanmar’s military rulers insist the polls were free and fair and had popular support.
A spokesperson for the US State Department, who had remained silent on criticism of foreign elections during the second Trump administration, said they were monitoring the situation closely and would “evaluate the military regime’s next steps.”
Aung San Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy party was dissolved along with dozens of other parties, and some others declined to participate, drawing accusations from critics that the process was designed to legitimize military rule.
Under Myanmar’s political system, the military is also guaranteed 25 percent of the seats in parliament, ensuring continued control even if power is formally transferred to a civilian-led government.
