Burmese election won by military-backed party

Opposition parties concede defeat to USDP but accuse junta of fraud as Barack Obama says election was stolen

Burmese opposition parties have accused the authorities of vote-rigging. Photograph: Nyein Chan Naing/EPA

Burma's biggest military-backed party has won the country's first election in 20 years by a landslide, after a vote denounced by pro-democracy parties as rigged to preserve authoritarian rule.

Opposition parties conceded defeat but accused the military junta of fraud and said many state workers had been forced to support the army-backed Union Solidarity and Development party (USDP) in balloting ahead of Sunday's vote.

A day after the US president, Barack Obama, dismissed it as stolen, China's ministry of foreign affairs lauded the election as "peaceful and successful", illustrating the strengthening ties between energy-hungry China and its resource-rich neighbour.

As votes were counted, government soldiers cleared ethnic minority rebels from an eastern border town after two days of sporadic clashes that killed at least 10 people and saw about 17,000 civilians flee into neighbouring Thailand.

Many refugees had since returned to Burma as the military pushed back the Karen rebels, who have fought the government since Burma won independence from Britain in 1948. The fighters say the election and the military's continued dominance threaten any chance of achieving a degree of autonomy.

Stacked with recently retired generals and closely aligned with the 77-year-old paramount leader, Senior General Than Shwe, the USDP took as many as 80% of the available seats for parliament, a senior party official told Reuters.

But Khin Maung Swe, the leader of the largest opposition party, the National Democratic Force, told Reuters: "We took the lead at the beginning but the USDP later came up with so-called advance votes and that changed the results completely, so we lost."

The second-largest pro-democracy party, the Democratic Party (Burma), also conceded defeat.

"I admit defeat but it was not fair play. It was full of malpractice and fraud and we will try to expose them and tell the people," said the party leader, Thu Wai.

At least six parties have lodged complaints with the election commission, accusing the USDP of fraud – a charge that is unlikely to gain traction in a country where more than 2,100 political activists are in jail.

The vote was held with the pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi in detention and her party disbanded for refusing to take part in an election it said was unfair. She had urged supporters to boycott the poll.

With the election over, the spotlight will return to the Nobel laureate, who has spent 15 of the past 21 years in detention but is due to be freed when her latest house arrest term expires on Saturday.

The US, Britain, the European Union and Japan repeated calls this week to free the 65-year-old, whose National League for Democracy beat an army-backed party by a landslide in 1990, but had the result ignored by the junta.

Burma's neighbours and partners in the Association of South-East Asian Nations had been hoping the election would end Burma's isolation and remove hurdles it poses to greater co-operation with the west.

China has built up close political and business links with Burma while the west has for years shunned its leaders and imposed sanctions over the suppression of democracy and a poor human rights record.

Russia welcomed the vote. "We see the elections as a step in the democratisation of Burma society in accordance with the political reforms taken by the country's leadership," Russia's ministry of foreign affairs said in a statement.

Opposition parties concede defeat to USDP but accuse junta of fraud as Barack Obama says election was stolen Burmese opposition parties have accused the authorities of vote-rigging. Photograph: Nyein Chan Naing/EPA Burma's biggest military-backed party has won the country's first election in 20 years by a landslide, after a vote denounced by pro-democracy parties as rigged to preserve authoritarian rule. Opposition parties conceded defeat but accused the military junta of fraud and said many state workers had been forced to support the army-backed Union Solidarity and Development party (USDP) in balloting ahead of Sunday's vote. A day after the US president, Barack Obama, dismissed it as stolen, China's ministry of foreign affairs lauded the election as "peaceful and successful", illustrating the strengthening ties between energy-hungry China and its resource-rich neighbour. As votes were counted, government soldiers cleared ethnic minority rebels from an eastern border town after two days of sporadic clashes that killed at least 10 people and saw about 17,000 civilians flee into neighbouring Thailand. Many refugees had since returned to Burma as the military pushed back the Karen rebels, who have fought the government since Burma won independence from Britain in 1948. The fighters say the election and the military's continued dominance threaten any chance of achieving a degree of autonomy. Stacked with recently retired generals and closely aligned with the 77-year-old paramount leader, Senior General Than Shwe, the USDP took as many as 80% of the available seats for parliament, a senior party official told Reuters. But Khin Maung Swe, the leader of the largest opposition party, the National Democratic Force, told Reuters: "We took the lead at the beginning but the USDP later came up with so-called advance votes and that changed the results completely, so we lost." The second-largest pro-democracy party, the Democratic Party (Burma), also conceded defeat. "I admit defeat but it was not fair play. It was full of malpractice and fraud and we will try to expose them and tell the people," said the party leader, Thu Wai. At least six parties have lodged complaints with the election commission, accusing the USDP of fraud – a charge that is unlikely to gain traction in a country where more than 2,100 political activists are in jail. The vote was held with the pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi in detention and her party disbanded for refusing to take part in an election it said was unfair. She had urged supporters to boycott the poll. With the election over, the spotlight will return to the Nobel laureate, who has spent 15 of the past 21 years in detention but is due to be freed when her latest house arrest term expires on Saturday. The US, Britain, the European Union and Japan repeated calls this week to free the 65-year-old, whose National League for Democracy beat an army-backed party by a landslide in 1990, but had the result ignored by the junta. Burma's neighbours and partners in the Association of South-East Asian Nations had been hoping the election would end Burma's isolation and remove hurdles it poses to greater co-operation with the west. China has built up close political and business links with Burma while the west has for years shunned its leaders and imposed sanctions over the suppression of democracy and a poor human rights record. Russia welcomed the vote. "We see the elections as a step in the democratisation of Burma society in accordance with the political reforms taken by the country's leadership," Russia's ministry of foreign affairs said in a statement.