Myanmar‘s military generals, led by Senior General Min Aung Hlaing, are planning to hold stage-managed elections in a nation they only control parts of, despite mounting evidence of intensifying atrocities.
The junta has rescinded a four-year state of emergency order and formed a caretaker administration to govern the war-torn Southeast Asian country until a new parliament is assembled following a national vote.
Analysts say this move is merely a cosmetic change designed to give the appearance of playing by the democratic playbook while remaining firmly in power.
The election, scheduled to be held in stages over December 2025 and January 2026, is widely regarded as a sham and a tool used by the junta to give it a veneer of legitimacy as it seeks to entrench its rule and gain international recognition.
UN investigators have gathered evidence of systemic torture against those detained by the military, summary executions of captured combatants or civilians accused of being informers, children as young as two being detained in place of their parents, and aerial attacks on schools, homes, and hospitals.
Min Aung Hlaing’s military has a long and notorious history of ruling Myanmar with an iron fist.
The military seized power in 2021, overthrowing the democratically elected government of Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi, and installed itself as leader.
The claims of widespread voter fraud in the 2020 election, which was won in a landslide by Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy Party, were never substantiated.
The UN’s Independent Investigative Mechanism for Myanmar has said that the “frequency and intensity” of atrocities in the country have only escalated over the past year.
Children as young as two years old were often detained in place of their parents, and some were also abused and tortured. The group found evidence of “systemic torture” in military-run detention facilities, including rape and other forms of sexual violence.
The junta’s election objectives are for a “genuine, disciplined multiparty democratic system and the building of a union based on democracy and federalism.”
However, with most of the country’s pro-democracy lawmakers in exile or jail, and the military’s widespread repression and attacks on the people, such a vote would never be considered free or fair, observers say.
“It’s a sham election… It’s not inclusive, it’s not legitimate,” said Mi Kun Chan Non, a women’s activist working with Myanmar’s Mon ethnic minority.
Many observers have warned that Min Aung Hlaing is seeking to legitimize his power grab through the ballot box and rule through proxy political parties.
The international community has largely denounced the election plan. The United States and most Western countries have never recognized the junta as the legitimate government of Myanmar, and the election has been denounced by several governments in the region, including Japan and Malaysia.
The voting process is expected to be marred by violence, with many citizens potentially casting their votes in active conflict zones or under the eyes of armed soldiers.
The junta’s lack of control over large swathes of the country outside its heartland and major cities may also lead to some townships not voting at all.
In essence, the planned election in Myanmar is seen as a farce, aimed at legitimizing the military’s rule rather than bringing democracy to the country.
The international community must be cautious in offering any form of support for the planned elections, as an unfair and restricted election would only breed further resentment among the people of Myanmar.