Junta soldiers and families pressured to vote for USDP

By Admin 29 Dec 2025

DMG Newsroom

29 December 2025, Sittwe

In the first phase of the election, junta soldiers and their families were reportedly forced to vote exclusively for the military-backed Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP), according to military sources.

Soldiers and their families across the country were pressured to vote for the USDP, while military officers were ordered to guard polling stations during voting.

“Junta soldiers and their families are not allowed to vote for any party they like. Military families are being pressured to vote for the USDP. Military officers are also being closely monitored when they vote. If they vote for another party instead of the USDP, they face immediate arrest. Every military unit in the country is being forced to vote the same way,” a military source in Nay Pyi Taw told DMG.

Soldiers and their families were instructed to vote only at polling stations inside military bases, with media and observers barred from observing the voting process, the sources added.

The results of the first phase of the election, held on 28 December, have not been officially announced, but reports suggest a landslide victory for the USDP.

Some generals involved in the 2021 coup also ran as USDP candidates, and junta chief Min Aung Hlaing is reportedly speculated to become president.

A young Arakanese observer said, “Why did the 2021 coup happen? The USDP lost the election by a landslide, so the military seized power. Now, it is not unusual for the USDP to use whatever means it has to win the election. We knew from the beginning that the USDP would win. Some of the generals involved in the coup are running for the USDP, and when parliament reconvenes, Min Aung Hlaing is expected to become president. That is why he created a government according to his own wishes.”

The military regime announced that the first phase of the election was held in 102 townships, with the second phase scheduled for 100 townships on 11 January and 62 townships on 25 January.

In the junta-organized election, the USDP reportedly won in three townships in Arakan State, while Dr. Aye Maung's Arakan Front Party and the Rakhine Nationalities Party failed to secure any seats.