As phase 1 of the multiparty democratic general election 2025 was held in 102 townships across the nation yesterday, eligible voters cast their ballots freely to select their favourite candidates.

At the relevant polling stations in Nay Pyi Taw Union Territory including Zeyathiri, Pobbathiri, Pyinmana, Zabuthiri, Lewe, Dekkhinathiri, Ottarathiri and Tatkon townships, the polling station heads and officials displayed the ballot boxes to representatives of political parties and domestic and international election observation teams, secured these boxes with safety seals, and announced the opening of the polling stations at exactly 6 am.

Members of election subcommissions at different levels, polling station heads, deputy polling station heads and members inspected the Myanmar Electronic Voting Machines (MEVM), including the control units and ballot units, in the presence of representatives from political parties and domestic and international election observers, to ensure the voting machines are free from fraud and that the voting process can be conducted more accurately and efficiently.

Even before 6 am, voters lined up at their respective polling stations to cast their votes. When the polling stations opened, they verified their voter list numbers against their citizenship scrutiny cards and, in the private voting booths, used the MEVM machines to freely and independently vote for their favorite candidates contesting for seats in the Pyithu Hluttaw and the Amyotha Hluttaw.

Domestic and international election observation teams monitored the casting of voters in an independent, secure and peaceful manner at respective polling stations while internal and external media covered the information about electoral process.

At a time when the voting process ended, polling station heads and members took out the cast ballots from the control unit of the MEVM in the presence of representatives from political parties and election observers to count the ballots systematically.

In the yesterday’s multiparty democratic general elections 2025, there were over 24.26 million eligible voters nationwide. A total of 4,863 candidates from 57 political parties competed in 692 constituencies across the nation, including six parties contesting nationwide for the Union and 51 parties contesting within the respective regions and states.

In Nay Pyi Taw Union Territory, there were 909,832 eligible voters. A total of 74 candidates from seven political parties including five independent candidates competed in the election at 626 polling stations in eight constituencies of the Pyithu Hluttaw and one constituency of the Amyotha Hluttaw, totalling nine.

MNA/TTA

#TheGlobalNewLightOfMyanmar