BANGKOK: Myanmar will hold special elections to fill parliamentary vacancies next April in its first vote since this year's general election that critics said was designed to cement military rule.
The elections will fill vacancies left by elected representatives who took ministerial or government posts and will include areas previously unable to vote because of conflict. The vote is unlikely to change the balance of power in the national parliament currently controlled by the military-backed Union Solidarity and Development Party, but it may provide a measure of public support for the parties contesting the vote.
Myanmar has been in turmoil since the military seized power from the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi in 2021, triggering widespread opposition. After security forces suppressed peaceful protests with lethal force, many opponents of military rule took up arms, plunging large parts of the country into conflict.
The Union Election Commission said the April 4 by-elections will be held in 55 constituencies, including 34 seats in the lower house, five in the upper house and 16 in regional and state parliaments, according to the announcement published in the state-run Myanma Alinn newspaper Friday.
At least seven of the constituencies are in towns that the military recently recaptured from armed groups fighting against it. Some of the constituencies are in seven states and regions where armed conflicts are ongoing.
Myanmar has 440 seats in the lower house and 224 seats in upper house, with military appointees occupying 25% of the seats in each chamber.
In the general election that concluded in January, the USDP secured nearly 90% of parliamentary seats alongside its allies, while Min Aung Hlaing, the former army chief who led the 2021 military takeover, was sworn in as president in April.
Major opposition parties, including Suu Kyi's former ruling National League for Democracy, had previously been ordered to be disbanded after refusing to take part in what they considered a sham process.
The election was widely criticized as an attempt to legitimize military rule following the army takeover. The conflicts prevented voting in many areas during that election, which was held in only 263 of Myanmar's 330 townships.