Myanmar holds second round of elections during conflict
AP News••world
Key Points:
- Myanmar is conducting the second phase of its first general election since the 2021 military coup, with voting extended to conflict-affected townships amid ongoing civil war and security concerns.
- The election, organized by the military government, has been widely criticized by international observers and human rights officials as neither free nor fair, with reports of political repression, arrests of over 22,000 political prisoners, and violence targeting polling stations.
- Despite these issues, the military-backed Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP) is dominating the election, having won nearly 90% of contested seats in the first phase, while key opposition figures like Aung San Suu Kyi and her National League for Democracy party are absent due to imprisonment and dissolution.
