A military-backed party in Myanmar holds rallies as campaigning begins for December election

Supporters of the military-backed Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP) wave the party flags during the first day of campaign for the upcoming general election, in Naypyitaw, Myanmar. (AP)

• Campaigning began just a day after UN Secretary-General António Guterres, in a meeting with leaders of Southeast Asian nations, warned that the planned election could cause further instability and deepen Myanmar’s crisis
• Fifty seven parties have registered for the contest but Aung San Suu Kyi ‘s National League for Democracy, which won the last two elections by landslides only to be ousted by the army, is not among them

BANGKOK: Political parties in military-run Myanmar on Tuesday kicked off their election campaigns, two months ahead of scheduled national polls that are widely seen as an effort to confer legitimacy on the military’s 2021 seizure of power, even as the country’s civil war precludes voting in many areas.
Campaigning began just a day after UN Secretary-General António Guterres, in a meeting with leaders of Southeast Asian nations, warned that the planned election could cause further instability and deepen Myanmar’s crisis.
Critics of the military-led government charge that the polls, which are set to begin on Dec. 28, will be neither free nor fair.
Fifty-seven parties have registered for the contest but Aung San Suu Kyi ‘s National League for Democracy, which won the last two elections by landslides only to be ousted by the army, is not among them. It was one of dozens of parties ordered disbanded by the army-appointed Union Election Commission more than two years ago after it refused to take part in what it saw as a sham process.
On Tuesday, the military-backed Union Solidarity and Development Party held ceremonies in the capital Naypyitaw and Yangon, the country’s largest city, to unveil its campaign slogan “Stronger Myanmar.”
The ceremony in Naypyitaw, attended by hundreds of green-clad supporters, was led by the party’s senior figures, including former generals now serving in the Cabinet of the military government.
USDP chairman Khin Yi, a former general and chief of police, said in his speech that the campaign would follow regulations and the law, declaring that the poll’s results would confer legitimacy.
Other parties have not yet staged campaign events on the ground but are instead focusing their outreach on social media platforms, especially Facebook. State television and radio will carry nightly broadcasts by registered parties through Nov. 24.
Senior Gen. Min Aung Hlaing, who heads the military government, has said that six parties will contest nationwide for seats. However, due to fighting, the polls cannot be held in all 330 townships, he said. Voting will be held in 102 townships in a first phase and 100 in the second.
In the absence of the NLD or any other credible nationwide opposition parties, the military-backed USDP, which is fielding more than 1,000 candidates is expected to win the most seats.
Several opposition organizations, including armed resistance groups, have said they will try to derail the polls. The General Strike Coordination Body, which organizes anti-military protests, announced on its Facebook page Monday that an election boycott would run from Tuesday until the end of the year and urged public participation.
The military seized power in February 2021, claiming the victory of Suu Kyi’s party in the November 2020 election was due to widespread voter fraud. However, they have failed to present convincing evidence to back the allegation.
The takeover sparked a national uprising with fierce fighting in many parts of the country. The military government has stepped up activity ahead of the election to retake areas controlled by opposition forces, with airstrikes killing scores of civilians.