Myanmar Kicks Off First Phase of General Elections
The initial voting phase encompasses 102 townships, with subsequent rounds scheduled for Jan. 11 and Jan. 25, a Chinese news outlet confirmed. Ballot casting commenced at 6 a.m. local time (2315GMT Saturday).
The military overthrew Aung San Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy (NLD) administration in 2021, triggering more than four years of emergency governance. The NLD had secured victory in the November 2020 national ballot.
Though authorities disbanded 40 political organizations in 2023, including the NLD, approximately six parties—fielding 4,963 candidates—are competing in Sunday's vote.
More than 50 additional parties are contesting regional-level seats. The military-aligned Union Solidarity and Development Party has nominated roughly 1,018 candidates.
The country's bicameral legislature contains 664 seats—440 in the lower chamber and 224 in the upper chamber.
Constitutional requirements mandate parliament convene within three months post-election to select speakers and a president, who then appoints the prime minister to establish a government.
Following the takeover, the Buddhist-majority country of more than 54 million inhabitants has experienced devastating ethnic violence between armed factions and military forces, causing thousands of deaths and displacing over 3.5 million civilians.
Military authorities have not yet disclosed when vote tallying will occur or when final results will be announced.
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