• Junta-backed Union Solidarity and Development Party claims sweeping victories as official election results pending

ISLAMABAD / ISTANBUL

China on Monday expressed hope that Myanmar’s military-led election process would help advance national reconciliation and restore stability, calling for a smooth continuation of the remaining phases of the polls.

Beijing hopes that the upcoming second and third phases of the elections will also proceed smoothly and help stabilize the situation in Myanmar, Foreign Ministry spokesman Lin Jian told a news conference.

"We hope the upcoming second and third phase of the voting will also proceed smoothly, enable Myanmar to stabilize and de-escalate the situation, bring the political situation back on the right track, and realize a more broad-based and stable peace for reconciliation, restore stability and development of the country at an early date," he said.

The first phase of general elections in Myanmar — the first since the 2021 military coup — was held Sunday in 102 townships.

While official results have not yet been released, the junta-backed Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP) claimed sweeping victories after the polls closed, according to Myanmar Now News outlet.

USDP leaders reportedly claimed wins across the country, with party General Secretary Thaung Aye describing the party’s performance as “positive,” without providing detailed figures.

According to the outlet, airstrikes, artillery fire and explosions were also reported in multiple parts of the country on Sunday as people cast their ballots.

The second and third phases of the elections are scheduled for Jan. 11 and Jan. 25, respectively.

Myanmar’s elected government, led by Aung San Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy (NLD), was ousted in the 2021 coup, plunging the country into more than four years of emergency rule.

The NLD had won the November 2020 general elections.

While 40 political parties were dissolved in 2023, including the NLD, at least six parties — with 4,963 candidates — are participating in the elections.

At the regional level, 57 parties are running. The military-backed Union Solidarity and Development Party has put up some 1,018 candidates.

International observers from Russia, China, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Cambodia, Vietnam, Nicaragua, India, and the Myanmar-Japan Association observed the first phase of voting.

Myanmar has a bicameral parliament with 664 seats — 440 in the lower house and 224 in the upper house.

After the election, the parliament has to convene within three months to choose speakers and elect a president – the head of state who picks the prime minister to form the government.