The head of Myanmar’s military government has announced plans to hold a national election in December 2025 or January 2026. General Min Aung Hlaing has claimed that the elections will be “free and fair,” stating that 53 political parties have already submitted their lists to participate.

This will be the first vote since the military junta seized power in a 2021 coup, resulting in the arrest and imprisonment of democratically-elected leader Aung San Sung Kyi amidst unsubstantiated claims of fraud in the previous year’s elections.

Since the coup, the country has faced unrest, with a protest movement against the junta evolving into an armed rebellion nationwide. Critics, however, view the election announcement as a ruse designed to maintain the junta’s control through proxy political parties.

Human Rights Watch, a non-governmental organization, has expressed skepticism regarding the credibility of the election under current circumstances. According to them, for elections to be considered legitimate, the junta must cease violence, release those arbitrarily detained, and allow all political parties to register and participate without dissolving opposition parties.

The military junta has engaged in a violent crackdown on dissent, executing democracy activists and imprisoning journalists. Despite this, they have faced challenges in containing a widespread insurgency involving pro-democracy and ethnic rebel groups, limiting their control beyond major cities.

The United Nations, citing the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP), reported in January that at least 6,231 civilians have been killed by the military over the past four years, including 1,144 women and 709 children. In September, the UN warned that Myanmar is “sinking into an abyss of human suffering.”

Source: https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c757qk1lnq4o