Pakistan, Jan. 6 -- Myanmar pro-military Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP) claimed a sweeping victory in the first phase of the junta-run elections, official results released Monday showed. The party won 89 of 102 lower house seats, equating to nearly 87% of the contested seats, while remaining positions went largely to small ethnic minority parties.

The elections, conducted in phases with the final round set for January 25, are the military's attempt to return power to a civilian government after its 2021 coup ousted Aung San Suu Kyi. Western diplomats and democracy advocates have dismissed the poll as a facade, pointing to Suu Kyi's continued detention, the dissolution of her National League for Democracy (NLD), and widesp...