Myanmar’s loaded election brings win for junta allies: ‘What was the point?’

Last Updated on January 26, 2026 8:28 pm

By Aidan Jones

Myanmar’s military proxy party has claimed a predictable victory in an election widely condemned as a sham, a result likely to hardwire the junta into power indefinitely.

For millions of disenfranchised citizens like May*, who fled to neighbouring Thailand to escape the crackdown, the landslide win holds no credibility.

“None of us voted,” the 38-year-old migrant said.

“The military held the election for themselves and they won. But they have all of the power anyway, so what was the point?”

On Monday, Myanmar’s military-backed Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP) said it had secured a majority to form a government after Sunday’s final round of voting.

“As we won the election, we will move forward,” a senior USDP official told Agence France-Presse, following wide-margin wins in the first two rounds to confirm what poll observers had long said was inevitable: a military-aligned clean sweep of parliamentary seats.

Source :SCMP