BANGKOK: Political parties in military-run Myanmar on Tuesday kicked off their election campaigns, two months ahead of scheduled national polls that are widely seen as an effort to confer legitimacy on the military’s 2021 seizure of power, even as the country’s civil war precludes voting in many areas.
Campaigning began just a day after UN Secretary-General António Guterres, in a meeting with leaders of Southeast Asian nations, warned that the planned election could cause further instability and deepen Myanmar’s crisis.
Critics of the military-led government charge that the polls, which are set to begin on Dec. 28, will be neither free nor fair.
Fifty-seven parties have registered for the contest but Aung San Suu Kyi ‘s National League for Democracy, which won the last two elections by landslides only to be ousted by the army, is not among them. It was one of dozens of parties ordered disbanded by the army-appointed Union Election Commission more than two years ago after it refused to take part in what it saw as a sham process.
On Tuesday, the military-backed Union Solidarity and Development Party held ceremonies in the capital Naypyitaw and Yangon, the country’s largest city, to unveil its campaign slogan “Stronger Myanmar.”
The ceremony in Naypyitaw, attended by hundreds of green-clad supporters, was led by the party’s senior figures, including former generals now serving in the Cabinet of the military government.
USDP chairman Khin Yi, a former general and chief of police, said in his speech that the campaign would follow regulations and the law, declaring that the poll’s results would confer legitimacy.
Other parties have not yet staged campaign events on the ground but are instead focusing their outreach on social media platforms, especially Facebook. State television and radio will carry nightly broadcasts by registered parties through Nov. 24.
Senior Gen. Min Aung Hlaing, who heads the military government, has said that six parties will contest nationwide for seats. However, due to fighting, the polls cannot be held in all 330 townships, he said. Voting will be held in 102 townships in a first phase and 100 in the second.
In the absence of the NLD or any other credible nationwide opposition parties, the military-backed USDP, which is fielding more than 1,000 candidates is expected to win the most seats.
Several opposition organizations, including armed resistance groups, have said they will try to derail the polls. The General Strike Coordination Body, which organizes anti-military protests, announced on its Facebook page Monday that an election boycott would run from Tuesday until the end of the year and urged public participation.
The military seized power in February 2021, claiming the victory of Suu Kyi’s party in the November 2020 election was due to widespread voter fraud. However, they have failed to present convincing evidence to back the allegation.
The takeover sparked a national uprising with fierce fighting in many parts of the country. The military government has stepped up activity ahead of the election to retake areas controlled by opposition forces, with airstrikes killing scores of civilians.
A military-backed party in Myanmar holds rallies as campaigning begins for December election
https://arab.news/ycah4
A military-backed party in Myanmar holds rallies as campaigning begins for December election
- Campaigning began just a day after UN Secretary-General António Guterres, in a meeting with leaders of Southeast Asian nations, warned that the planned election could cause further instability and deepen Myanmar’s crisis
- Fifty seven parties have registered for the contest but Aung San Suu Kyi ‘s National League for Democracy, which won the last two elections by landslides only to be ousted by the army, is not among them
Trump is threatening to block a new bridge between Detroit and Canada from opening
- Trump’s threat comes as the relationship between the US and Canada increasingly sours during the US president’s second term
WASHINGTON: President Donald Trump on Monday threatened to block the opening of a new Canadian-built bridge across the Detroit River, demanding that Canada turn over at least half of the ownership of the bridge and agree to other unspecified demands in his latest salvo over cross-border trade issues.
“We will start negotiations, IMMEDIATELY. With all that we have given them, we should own, perhaps, at least one half of this asset,” Trump said in a lengthy social media post, complaining that the United States would get nothing from the bridge and that Canada did not use US steel to built it.
The Gordie Howe International Bridge, named after a Canadian hockey star who played for the Detroit Red Wings for 25 seasons, had been expected to open in early 2026, according to information on the project’s website. The project was negotiated by former Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder — a Republican — and paid for by the Canadian government to help ease congestion over the existing Ambassador Bridge and Detroit-Windsor tunnel. Work has been underway since 2018.
It’s unclear how Trump would seek to block the bridge from being opened, and the White House did not immediately return a request for comment on more details. The Canadian Embassy in Washington also did not immediately return a request for comment.
Trump’s threat comes as the relationship between the US and Canada increasingly sours during the US president’s second term. The United States-Mexico-Canada trade agreement is up for review this year, and Trump has been taking a hard-line position ahead of those talks, including by issuing new tariff threats.
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, meanwhile, has spoken out on the world stage against economic coercion by the United States.
Sen. Elissa Slotkin, D-Michigan, said the Canadian-funded project is a “huge boon” to her state and its economic future. “You’ll be able to move cargo from Montreal to Miami without ever stopping at a street light,” Slotkin told The Associated Press.
“So to shoot yourself in the foot and threaten the Gordie Howe Bridge means that this guy has completely lost the plot on what’s good for us versus just what’s spite against the Canadians,” Slotkin said.
Michigan, a swing state that Trump carried in both 2016 and 2024, has so far largely avoided the brunt of his second-term crackdown, which has targeted blue states with aggressive immigration raids and cuts to federal funding for major infrastructure projects.
Trump and Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer have also maintained an unusually cordial relationship, with the president publicly praising her during an Oval Office appearance last April. The two also shared a hug last year ahead of Trump’s announcement of a new fighter jet mission for an Air National Guard base in Michigan.
While Canada paid for the project, the bridge will be operated under a joint ownership agreement between Michigan and Canada, said Stacey LaRouche, press secretary to Whitmer.
“This is the busiest trade crossing in North America,” LaRouche said, saying the bridge was “good for Michigan workers and it’s good for Michigan’s auto industry” as well as being a good example of bipartisan and international cooperation.
“It’s going to open one way or another, and the governor looks forward to attending the ribbon-cutting,” LaRouche said.
Rep. Shri Thanedar, the Democratic House representative of Detroit, said blocking the bridge would be “crazy” and said Trump’s attacks on Canada weren’t good for business or jobs. “The bridge is going to help Michigan’s economy. There’s so much commerce between Michigan and Canada. They’re one of our biggest partners,” Thanedar said.
Democratic Rep. Debbie Dingell of Ann Arbor brushed aside the president’s threat, saying she’s looking forward to the bridge’s opening later in the spring. “And I’ll be there,” Dingell said.
“That bridge is the biggest crossing in this country on the northern border. It’s jobs. It’s about protecting our economy. It was built with union jobs on both sides,” said Dingell. “It’s going to open. Canada is our ally.”
