Myanmar holds 2nd round of elections amid armed conflict

YANGON — Myanmar resumed voting Sunday in the second round of its first general election in five years, expanding polling to additional townships, including some areas affected by the civil war between the military government and its armed opponents.

Polling stations opened at 6 a.m. local time in 100 townships across the country, including parts of Sagaing, Magway, Mandalay, Bago and Tanintharyi regions, as well as Mon, Shan, Kachin, Kayah and Kayin states. Many of those areas have seen clashes in recent months or remain under heightened security, underscoring the risks surrounding the vote.

The election is being held in three phases due to armed conflicts. The first round took place on Dec. 28 in 102 of the country's total 330 townships, followed by the second phase on Sunday. A final round is scheduled for Jan. 25, though 65 townships will not take part because of fighting.

Myanmar has a two-house national legislature, totaling 664 seats. The party with a combined parliamentary majority can select the new president, who can name a Cabinet and form a new government. The military automatically receives 25% of seats in each house under the constitution.

Critics say the polls organized by the military government are neither free nor fair and are an effort by the military to legitimize its rule after seizing power from the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi in February 2021.

On Sunday morning, people in Yangon, the country's largest city, and Mandalay, the second-largest, were casting their ballots at high schools, government buildings and religious buildings.

While more than 4,800 candidates from 57 parties are competing for seats in national and regional legislatures, only six parties are competing nationwide with the possibility of gaining political clout in parliament.

The military government claimed more than 6 million people — about 52% of the more than 11 million eligible voters in the first phase of elections — cast ballots, calling the turnout a decisive success.

Suu Kyi, Myanmar's 80-year-old former leader, and her party aren't participating in the polls. She is serving a 27-year prison term on charges widely viewed as spurious and politically motivated. Her party, the National League for Democracy, was dissolved in 2023 after refusing to register under new military rules.

Other parties also refused to register or declined to run under conditions they deem unfair, while opposition groups have called for a voter boycott.

Tom Andrews, a special rapporteur working with the U.N. human rights office, urged the international community Thursday to reject what he called a ''sham election,'' saying the first round exposed coercion, violence and political exclusion.

''You cannot have a free, fair or credible election when thousands of political prisoners are behind bars, credible opposition parties have been dissolved, journalists are muzzled, and fundamental freedoms are crushed,'' Andrews said.

The army's takeover triggered widespread peaceful protests that soon erupted into armed resistance, and the country slipped into a civil war.

A new Election Protection Law imposes harsh penalties and restrictions for virtually all public criticism of the polls. The authorities have charged more than 330 people under new electoral law for leafleting or online activity over the past few months.