In the recently finished national elections, Myanmar's Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP), supported by the military, emerged victorious. However, the 11 Southeast Asian countries that make up the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) have not yet acknowledged the election.

There were three stages to the national elections in Myanmar. Voting began in late December and was completed last week. In both the lower and upper houses of parliament, the USDP secured a majority. The party gained 109 of the 157 seats in the upper house, the Myotha Hluttaw, and 232 of the 263 seats in the lower house, the Pithu Hluttaw. According to official media today, the election results were declared on Thursday and Friday.

For a long time, the USDP has supported the Myanmar military. A retired brigadier general serves as the party's chairman. Many of its top officials are former military officers.

In February 2021, the Myanmar military overthrew Aung San Suu Kyi's elected government through a military coup. Guerrilla fighting started in the nation a few weeks later. The anti-junta insurgency has expanded and intensified over time. Many of the nation's former rebel organizations have also been a part of it. The civil violence in Myanmar has displaced roughly 3.6 million people, according to the UN.

The entire election process was personally overseen by Min Aung Hlaing, the head of the junta and military. Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy (NLD) was one of many significant parties that abstained from the contentious election.

Many of Myanmar's administrative divisions, or townships, did not have elections because of the civil war. The legitimacy of the election has been questioned due to the absence of voting in areas under the control of several rebel groups. International monitoring groups and human rights organisations claim that the election was not "free and fair." The purpose of the election was to justify military control.

According to the UN, at least 170 civilians were murdered, and over 400 were jailed in airstrikes during this year's election, and many minority groups, including the Rohingya, were unable to cast ballots.

ASEAN has not recognized

The Philippines is currently ASEAN's chair, according to an Al-Jazeera report. Teresa Lazaro, the nation's foreign secretary, stated yesterday that "ASEAN has not yet recognized the three-phase elections in Myanmar."

According to Lazaro, ASEAN has not yet made a definitive decision about its stance on the elections in Myanmar. The three phases of voting have been finished, but the election process is still ongoing.

The first significant ASEAN ministerial gathering of the year took place in Cebu City, Philippines, yesterday. One of the primary subjects of discussion at the meeting was the political situation in Myanmar. Following the meeting, Lazaro said these things at a press conference.