After what is shaping up to be a devastating defeat, the Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP) has questioned the legitimacy of the entire election. In a press conference on Wednesday, the party rejected the results and called for a complete repeat of polling.

Experts have dismissed speculation that the drastic claim could be the first steps in a planned military coup. Rather, they said, the claim is more likely an attempt to save face after its decisive defeat. Speaking to The Myanmar Times, political scholar Dr. Yan Myo Thein said that the chances of either a coup or a do-over are “nearly zero.”

Nevertheless, rumblings of a potential military coup have accompanied each election since Myanmar’s transition to democracy. Groundless as such speculation may be, doubt in Myanmar’s political stability has always inspired caution in potential foreign investors. Indeed, in the international investment world, perceived stability can be nearly as important as actual stability. Fortunately, so far there appears to be nothing that will delegitimize last Sunday’s results. Other than worries over polling during the COVID-19 pandemic, the main controversies existed even in 2015. Despite the USDP’s rejection of the results, it appears the third general election has been a successful one.