By Naing Yarzar Min / MPA
The chairman of Myanmar’s military-appointed Union Election Commission (UEC), U Thein Soe, has announced plans to further amend the country’s electoral laws, following a recent election widely condemned by critics as a sham.
The announcement was made yesterday during a meeting with political parties at the UEC headquarters in the capital, Naypyidaw.
“Although the election has concluded, we have ongoing tasks, such as maintaining an active voter list,” U Thein Soe stated. “We are also reviewing the strengths and weaknesses of the recent election and will make necessary amendments, including changes to laws and bylaws.”
U Thein Soe defended the recent polls, claiming they were fair and fundamentally different from previous elections. He asserted that domestic and international observers, alongside embassy representatives, were invited to monitor the process and had recognized the election as “free, fair, transparent, and successful in accordance with democratic standards.”
However, political observers and critics paint a starkly different picture. Many argue the election was heavily manipulated to ensure a sweeping victory for the military-backed Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP), against the backdrop of a widespread public boycott.
“The main rival, the National League for Democracy (NLD), was excluded,” a Yangon-based political analyst told the Myanmar Pressphoto Agency (MPA). “Furthermore, the well-funded National Democratic Force (NDF) was dissolved. Parties like U Ko Ko Gyi’s People’s Party, the PPP, and the National Unity Party (NUP) are not real competitors to the USDP; they are merely seat-fillers.”
“The public boycotted the vote because there was no candidate they trusted. It is clearly a sham election designed solely to prolong the military dictatorship,” the analyst added.
The military regime conducted the controversial election in three phases across late December and January.
In the lead-up to the polls, the junta unilaterally amended electoral laws to its advantage. This included the dissolution of the NDF over alleged failures to meet party membership quotas. Authorities also disqualified People’s Pioneer Party (PPP) chairwoman Daw Thet Thet Khine as a candidate and imprisoned a People’s Party candidate for allegedly using “revolutionary” terminology.
Despite widespread reports of empty polling stations and a massive voter boycott, the military regime claimed that over 13 million of the country’s 24 million eligible voters cast their ballots—figures heavily disputed by independent monitors.
As anticipated by analysts, the USDP secured a majority in the polls. The military council is now reportedly moving to form a proxy civilian government, while U Thein Soe’s recent remarks signal that the regime intends to continue shaping electoral frameworks to its advantage for future polls.
