BANGKOK — The political party backed by Myanmar 's ruling military claimed Tuesday it won a commanding lead in the initial round of the first general election in five years, even though the state election body has not named the winners.
Voting is taking place in three phases due to ongoing armed conflicts, with the first round held Sunday in 102 of Myanmar's 330 townships. The remaining phases will take place on Jan. 11 and Jan. 25, but 65 townships won't participate because of the fighting.
A senior official of the Union Solidarity and Development Party told The Associated Press that the party has won 88 seats of the total 102 lower house seats contested in the first phase. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to release information.
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.
Final results are expected to be announced by late January. It wasn't clear if the election commission would release aggregate figures of the first round, although counts were publicly announced at local polling stations.
The USDP's official said it also won 85% of contested seats in regional legislatures, though complete results will only be known after the second or third phases.
He said the party captured all constituencies in all eight townships in the capital, Naypyitaw, where candidates including former generals were running. Many residents are in the military or work for the government.
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 to gain political clout in parliament. The USDP is by far the strongest contender.
