Myanmar's Second Round of Voting—Aung San Suu Kyi’s Hometown Draws Attention

(Yangon, 12th) Myanmar’s general election second phase voting was held on Sunday, with polling stations opened simultaneously in 100 townships, including Kawhmu in Yangon Region, the hometown of former State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi who was ousted and detained by the military.

Aung San Suu Kyi was once the Member of Parliament for the Kawhmu constituency. This is Myanmar's first general election since her democratic government was overthrown by a military coup in 2021, making the election situation in Kawhmu particularly noteworthy.

However, due to security concerns arising from the civil war, hundreds of regions in the townships holding the second phase of voting on Sunday (January 11) did not have polling stations set up.
The first phase of Myanmar's general election had already been held on December 28 last year in 102 townships, with the Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP)—seen as a proxy for the military—winning nearly 90% of the constituencies.

USDP spokesman Radan said that according to the results released so far by the Election Commission, his party has won 89% of the seats. As of Saturday (10th), USDP had secured 102 Lower House seats, 21 Upper House seats, and 108 seats in State and Region parliaments. Several ethnic minority-based parties also won a small number of seats, mainly concentrated in local constituencies.

Radan told Bloomberg in a phone interview: “This time we have fully prepared, aiming to achieve the best results in all three phases of the vote. We have not yet decided whom to nominate for vice president or cabinet members. It should become clear which party will win the election after the second phase results are announced.”

The Myanmar general election kicked off amid controversy, and as voting entered the second phase, criticism from independent rights groups and opposition parties grew.

The Independent Advisory Group on Myanmar, composed of human rights experts, pointed out that during the first phase of voting, thousands of polling stations temporarily canceled voting—indicating this election is carefully engineered to ensure victory for the military government’s proxy party.

Yanghee Lee, a member of the group and former United Nations special rapporteur on human rights in Myanmar, said: “Governments—including ASEAN member states—must immediately end this farce, thoroughly reject acts of electoral fraud and manipulation, and engage in dialogue with Myanmar’s legitimate pro-democracy forces.”

Opposition parties participating in the election have also questioned irregularities, especially regarding early voting. Some parties have already filed complaints with the Election Commission.

People’s Party Secretary Kyaw Lin told Bloomberg that early voting results “have shown conflicting situations in many constituencies.” He said, “Although the Election Commission claims to be following procedures, there really were some irregularities in the first phase, especially concerning early voting.”

However, the chairman of the Myanmar Union Election Commission, Than Soe, stressed that the early voting was “accurate and transparent.”

The Myanmar general election will be held in three stages, with the third round of voting scheduled for January 25 in 63 townships.