Commander-in-Chief of Myanmar’s armed forces, Senior General Min Aung Hlaing delivers his speech at the IX Moscow conference on international security in Moscow, Russia in 2021. He is expected to become the president of Myanmar. Photo by Alexander Zemlianichenko / EPA
Myanmar’s military junta orchestrated an election that would allow them to continue to helm the country they overtook in 2021.
Military leaders teamed with Chinese officials to pave the way for the Union Solidarity and Development Party’s win, The Washington Post reported.
Gen. Min Aung Hlaing, who led the coup and is expected to become the new president, had made an “agreement” with Chinese President Xi Jingping, and voting was to “reflect” that arrangement, the outlet said.
Malaysia and the Philippines have said they will disregard election results, while Britain and the European Union have said that voting was unfair.
Voting took place over three dates. The first election happened Dec. 28, and the second occurred Jan. 11.
Approximately a fifth of Myanmar townships participated in Sunday’s vote, the BBC reported.
A Yangon resident reported that he had to cast a ballot in order to renew his passport.
“I had to come,” he told The Washington Post.
