Myanmar’s parliament, dominated by a pro-military party, meets after 5 years the news

A new parliament will open for the first time since the coup in 2021, following elections that exclude the main opposition parties.

Myanmar’s parliament convened for the first time since the 2021 coup after recent elections saw a pro-military party win more seats as the main opposition parties were barred from running.

The new Parliament was inaugurated on Monday Phase elections In December and January, the pro-military Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP) dominated amid low turnout and no viable opposition.

A quarter of the available seats in the upper and lower houses – 166 seats – are reserved for the military and the USDP won 339 of the rest. Twenty-one parties won between one and 20 seats each.

In Monday’s session, Khin Yi, chairman of the military-backed USDP, was elected speaker of the lower house. He is a former general and police chief, widely regarded as a close ally of Myanmar’s military ruler, Senior General Min Aung Hlaing.

Additionally, a new five-member committee, the Union Consultative Council, will be established, which some experts call a “super body” that will allow Min Aung Hlaing to maintain his grip on the military and civilian administration.

An official announcement by the Central Election Commission said that the Upper House of Parliament will meet on Wednesday and a joint session is expected on Friday.

Myanmar’s last widely recognized general election in November 2020 saw a landslide victory for the National League for Democracy (NLD), led by Nobel Peace Prize laureate Aung San Suu Kyi. The military rejected the results, alleging widespread voter fraud without presenting credible evidence.

In February 2021, the armed forces arrested Suu Kyi and other senior NLD leaders, declared a state of emergency and transferred power to the military, sparking nationwide protests and violent crackdowns. The 80-year-old former leader’s 27-year prison sentence is widely considered bogus and politically motivated.

Political parties linked to the former ruling NLD were disbanded or barred from participating in recent elections while stricter laws criminalized public criticism of the vote.

Myanmar has been wracked by civil war and a humanitarian crisis since the 2021 coup, affecting millions of people.

The takeover prompted pro-democracy activists to organize nationwide resistance groups, many of which eventually joined long-established ethnic armed groups already fighting the central government.

Large areas of Myanmar are now outside the control of the military regime.

Critics, including democracy watchdog groups and opposition figures, said the recent election process lacked transparency and fairness.

Human Rights Watch has already called them “speech elections” ahead of the vote and described it as “a desperate bid for international legitimacy after nearly five years of brutal military repression”.

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations announced that it would not recognize the election results.