Voting resumes in Myanmar's three-phase election, branded a "sham" by critics

Описание: (11 Jan 2026)
RESTRICTIONS SUMMARY:

ASSOCIATED PRESS
Yangon – 11 January 2026
1. Wide of street in Yangon, in darkness, with stupa of iconic Shwedagon pagoda in middle of frame
2. Wide of interior of polling station
3. Wide of man voting
4. Wide of man inking his finger to show he has voted

ASSOCIATED PRESS
Mandalay – 11 January 2026
5. Various of people lining up outside polling station, in darkness
6. SOUNDBITE (Burmese) Maung Maung Naing, Voter in Mandalay
“The main thing is to have a government that will benefit the people. I only like a government that can make everything better for livelihoods and social welfare”
7. Mid of woman showing inked finger after voting
8. Various of lines of voters, waiting to enter polling station
STORYLINE:
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. 65 of the country’s 330 townships will see no vote at all.

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.

The first phase left the military-backed Union Solidarity and Development Party, or USDP, in a dominant position, winning nearly 90% of those contested seats in that phase in Pyithu Hluttaw, the lower house of parliament. It also won a majority of seats in regional legislatures.

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.

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