Myanmar's First Elections Since 2021 Coup See Surprisingly Low Voter Turnout

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Under the shadow of civil war and questions over the poll’s credibility, ‍voters in Myanmar have cast their ballots in apparently low numbers in a general election.

It was the first such ballot since a military coup toppled the last civilian government in 2021.

The military junta, having crushed pro-democracy protests after the coup and sparked a nationwide rebellion, said the three-phase vote would bring political stability to the impoverished Southeast Asian nation, despite international condemnation of the exercise.

But the United Nations, some Western nations and human rights groups have said the vote is not free, fair or credible, given anti-junta political ⁠parties are out of the running and it is illegal to criticise the polls.

Aung San Suu Kyi, a Nobel Peace Prize laureate, was ousted by the military just months after her National League for Democracy overwhelmingly won the 2020 general elections. Since then, she has remained in detention, and the party she led has been disbanded.

The military-aligned Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP), led by retired generals and fielding one-fifth of all candidates against severely diminished competition, is set to return to power, said Lalita Hanwong, a lecturer and Myanmar expert at Thailand’s Kasetsart University.

She criticized the military’s recent election, stating, “The junta’s election is designed to maintain the military’s oppressive control over the people. The USDP and other military-aligned parties will work together to establish the next government.”

According to ten residents from various cities across Myanmar, initial voter participation in these elections was notably lower compared to the 2020 elections.

The elections are taking place in three phases, with additional voting rounds scheduled for next month. Source: Getty / Lauren DeCicca

A military carring soliders driving on a city street.

Further rounds of voting will be held on 11 January and 25 January, covering 265 of ‍Myanmar’s 330 townships, although the junta does not have complete control of all those areas.

Dressed in civilian clothes, junta chief Min Aung Hlaing voted in the heavily guarded capital city of Naypyitaw, then held up an ink-soaked little finger, smiling widely, footage on state media MRTV showed.

Voters must dip a finger into indelible ink after casting a ballot to ensure they do not vote more than once.

Asked by reporters if he would like to become the nation’s president, an office that analysts say he has ambitions for, the general said he was not the leader of any political party.

“When the parliament convenes, there is a process for electing the president,” he said.

Tom Andrews, the UN special envoy for human rights in Myanmar, said the election was not a pathway out of the country’s crisis and must be strongly rejected.

Zaw Min Tun, a junta spokesperson, acknowledged international critics who do not support the elections.

“However, from this election, there will be political stability,” ‍he told reporters after voting in Naypyitaw. “We believe there will be a better future.”