The Arakan Front Party (AFP) and the Rakhine Nationalities Party lost to the military-proxy Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP) in the capital Sittwe and Kyaukphyu townships, located 317 miles (510 km) south of Sittwe, after ballots were reportedly counted following the end of the first phase of the regime’s 2025-26 election on Sunday, residents told DVB.
A resident who monitored elections in Sittwe told DVB on the condition of anonymity that the AFP won the state parliament and the Amyotha Hluttaw, or the upper house of parliament, seat for Manaung Township. The Rakhine Nationalities Party scored one seat in the Pyithu Hluttaw, or the lower house of parliament, for Manaung.
The AFP was founded by an Arakan nationalist politician Aye Maung in 2018. The regime’s Union Election Commission (UEC) approved the registration of the Kyaukphyu-based Rakhine Nationalities Party on Aug. 4.
The election results were not officially announced as the UEC stated that it would share the names of all winners nationwide at the conclusion of its three-phased elections on Jan. 25, 2026.
The election monitor in Sittwe added that military personnel and the Muslim community voted for the USDP, resulting in the loss of the two local political parties which are headed by ethnic Rakhine politicians in Sittwe and Kyaukphyu.
Independent election observers in Arakan told DVB that the USDP issued National Registration Cards (NRC) to an unknown number of Rohingya to get their support in the first phase of voting in Sittwe on Dec. 28. The Rohingya have officially been denied citizenship by law since 1982.
DVB requested comments from AFP leader Aye Maung and Rakhine Nationalities Party leader Ba Shein but didn’t receive a response.
An Arakan political analyst told DVB that he expected the USDP to win given that its candidates are mostly former military personnel. He claimed that only 30 percent of ethnic Arakanese Buddhists cast their ballots.
A total of 195,888 voters were registered to vote at 164 polling stations in Sittwe, Kyaukphyu and Manaung townships on Dec. 28, according to regime Arakan State Chief Minister Htein Lin.
Arakan State has over 2.5 million residents, according to the regime’s 2024 census report.
Fighting between the Arakan Army (AA) and regime forces was reported in Sittwe and Kyaukphyu townships Dec. 27-28. The AA has rejected the regime elections, calling them “unrepresentative” of Arakan people.
The UEC announced on Dec. 27 that regime elections could not be held in Arakan’s Ann, Thandwe, Gwa, and Taungup townships. The four townships are among 14 that have been seized by the AA since it launched an offensive against regime forces on Nov. 13, 2023.
The remaining 10 Arakan townships under AA control will also not hold polls due to “a lack of conditions to ensure free-and-fair elections,” according to the UEC. The second and final phases of voting will take place on Jan. 11 and Jan. 25, 2026.
