BANGKOK (AP) — The political party backed by Myanmar ’s ruling military claimed Tuesday it won a commanding lead in the initial round of the first general election in five years, even though the state election body has not named the winners.
Voting is taking place in three phases due to ongoing armed conflicts, with the first round held Sunday in 102 of Myanmar’s 330 townships. The remaining phases will take place on Jan. 11 and Jan. 25, but 65 townships won’t participate because of the fighting.
A senior official of the Union Solidarity and Development Party told The Associated Press that the party has won 88 seats of the total 102 lower house seats contested in the first phase. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to release information.
Myanmar has a two-house national legislature, totaling 664 seats. The party with a combined parliamentary majority can select the new president, who can name a Cabinet and form a new government. The military automatically receives 25% of seats in each house under the constitution.
Final results are expected to be announced by late January. It wasn’t clear if the election commission would release aggregate figures of the first round, although counts were publicly announced at local polling stations.
The USDP’s official said it also won 85% of contested seats in regional legislatures, though complete results will only be known after the second or third phases.
He said the party captured all constituencies in all eight townships in the capital, Naypyitaw, where candidates including former generals were running. Many residents are in the military or work for the government.
While more than 4,800 candidates from 57 parties are competing for seats in national and regional legislatures, only six parties are competing nationwide with the possibility to gain political clout in parliament. The USDP is by far the strongest contender.
The military government said there were more than 24 million eligible voters in the election, about 35% fewer than in the previous election in 2020. The drop is largely attributed to armed conflicts that have displaced many voters, and restrictions on elections in conflict areas.
Voter turnout for the first round has not been officially announced.
Opposition groups have called for a boycott by voters.
Human rights and opposition groups say the election is neither free nor fair and that power is likely to remain in the hands of military leader Senior Gen. Min Aung Hlaing, who led the army takeover in February 2021 that ousted the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi and blocked her National League for Democracy party from serving a second term.
The NLD was dissolved in 2023, along with 39 other parties, after refusing to officially register under the new military rules.
The 2021 takeover triggered widespread popular opposition that has grown into a civil war.
The state-run Global New Light of Myanmar reported Tuesday that armed groups opposing the army carried out attacks against polling stations and government buildings, as well as other areas in 11 of 102 townships included in the first phase of the election, on Saturday and Sunday, injuring five people.
Official of the Union Election Commission prepare to close a polling station after the votes are counted, during the first phase of general election, in Naypyitaw, Myanmar, Sunday, Dec. 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Aung Shine Oo)
