Jan 25 (Reuters) - Myanmar's junta chief on Sunday dismissed foreign criticism of the war-torn country's general election as a final round of voting took place, withthe military-backed party having secured a majority of seats in previous rounds.
The Union Solidarity and Development Party has won 193 of 209 seats in the lower house and 52 of 78 seats in the upper house after two rounds held on December 28 and January 11. Voter turnout was around 55% in each round, sharply lower than levels of about 70% in the 2020 and 2015elections.
Major opposition groups are not contesting the polls amid a civil war triggered by a 2021 coup that brought the military to power. The United Nations, rights groups and the UK have denounced the polls as a sham exercise to perpetuate the military's hold.
Malaysia, which last year chaired the 11-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations, which includes Myanmar, has said the blocwould not endorse the election.
"Whether the international community recognizes this or not, we don't understand their perspective. The people’s vote is the recognition we need," junta chief Min Aung Hlaing told reporters on Sunday, according to video broadcast on state TV.
The military has insisted the election is free of coercion and has public backing.
YANGON AND MANDALAY VOTE
On Sunday, voters were casting their ballots in some 60 townships, including the large cities of Yangon and Mandalay. Dressed in civilian clothes, Min Aung Hlaing earlier met voters at a polling station in Mandalay in a seemingly relaxed atmosphere, pictures from domestic media showed.
The 69-year-old general and acting president has indicated he is considering appointing someone to succeed him as armed forces chief and will likely move into a fully political role, a source has said.
Asked on Sunday about his possible role in the future government, Min Aung Hlaing said it was too early to say. "Once the Parliament is convened, they have their own procedures and methods for selection," he said.
While the junta has portrayed the election as a success despite the low turnout, residents of Myanmar's biggest cities have told Reuters of an atmosphere of fear and that many felt compelled to vote to avoid potential arrest or retribution.
One Yangon resident said polling stations in neighbourhoods where army officers and their families reside appeared to have a high turnout on Sunday, but few voters were seen in other areas.
The military took control of the impoverished Southeast Asian nation in a dawn coup on February 1, 2021, ousting an elected civilian government led by Nobel Peace Prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi.
The 80-year-old politician remains in detention and, like several other opposition groups, her National League for Democracy has been dissolved by the junta.
Fighting has continued through the election campaign and earlier voting in many parts of Myanmar, including air strikes around civilian areas in the border states of Rakhine, Shan and Kayin.
MILITARY SET TO HOLD POWER
The USDP, which was formed in 2010 and governed the country for five years following the end of a previous military government, is chaired by a retired brigadier general and packed with other former high-ranking officers.
Myanmar's military, which has ruled the country for five of the past six decades, does not appear to have any real intention of withdrawing from its political leadership role.
"Rather than resolving a crisis now in its fifth year, the vote is more likely to reinforce the military's hold on power, with little prospect of restoring domestic legitimacy or improving the country's standing with Western partners," said Kaho Yu, Principal Asia Analyst at risk intelligence company Verisk Maplecroft.
Using an election protection law, the junta has charged over 400 people for criticising and obstructing the election process, according to state media.
(Editing by Devjyot Ghoshal, Francesco Guarascio, Michael Perry and Edwina Gibbs)
