This December 28, general elections will take place in Myanmar, where a military junta has ruled since the coup d’état of February 1, 2021. Organizations defending democracy in this country and UN experts have urged the international community not to recognize the results of Sunday’s elections. The main reason given is that it is not a true democratic process, but rather a “fraudulent” maneuver aimed at legitimizing the power of the putschists, who guaranteed victory by preventing the main parties from attending.
Myanmar has been mired in civil war for almost five years. Although the 2008 Constitution guarantees the army 25% of seats in Parliament, polls did not give it enough representatives in 2015 or 2020 to obtain a government majority. “Frustration led to the military coup of 2021,” analyzes Harn Yawnghwe, executive director of the Euro-Burma Office, an organization that has worked from exile to promote democracy in Myanmar.
“Since (the military) took power, the country has taken up arms against them. And most Western countries have not recognized the government,” Yawnghwe added in an interview in Madrid in late November, where he met with representatives of different parties and the Foreign Ministry to urge them not to recognize the results of the elections, which they already expect the military to win.
As the calendar moves towards elections, the ruling military junta has intensified its usual violent attacks in areas it does not yet control, around 50% of the territory. In Rakhine State, an airstrike destroyed Mrauk-U General Hospital on December 11, killing at least 31 people. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), this brings the number of offensives against the country’s health system to 67 in 2025. “No place or person is safe from the violence of Myanmar’s armed forces, who are expanding repression in the run-up to this month’s elections marked by human rights violations,” said Joe Freeman, country researcher at Amnesty International.
In addition to the increasing violence and the difficulty of validating the census carried out in 2024, since the Government does not control the entire country, the Euro-Burma Office denounces that these elections do not meet the minimum conditions to be considered as such. “The three parties that received the most votes in the 2020 elections are not allowed to run in this election, which means the exclusion of around 80% of the electorate,” warns Yawnghwe. Of the 55 parties competing, only nine do so at the national level, none of them has ever won a single seat and around thirty are close to the army, adds the expert.
And even if the main parties could attend, they would not do so within democratic normality. Between 22,000 and 23,000 opponents are in prison, according to estimates by the Civicus or Southeast Asian Parliamentary for Human Rights (APHR) organizations.
Concerns over Aung San Suu Kyi
Among those arrested is charismatic opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi, 80, who remains under house arrest, although her whereabouts are unknown. “He is not at his usual residence and there is no information on his condition. Concern is growing,” reports Yawnghwe. The founder of the National League for Democracy and winner of the Nobel Peace Prize in 1991 for her fight for democracy was sentenced to 33 years in prison in 2021, a sentence which was later reduced to 27 years in 2022.
“Discrimination is also a significant factor in the electoral process, with Rohingyas, Tamils, Gurkhas and Chinese, among others, being excluded from voting,” warns James Rodehaver, head of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights team in Myanmar. “Civil society and independent media have little or no voice. The military has intensified mass electronic surveillance to identify dissidents, and there are fears that this surveillance will be used at polling stations,” he adds.
Far from being a process likely to lead to a political transition from crisis to stability and the restoration of democratic and civil government, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Türk, says that this process will worsen insecurity, fear and polarization throughout the country.
“A strong and coordinated rejection of these fraudulent elections is essential to prevent the junta from building its credibility and legitimacy,” said Tom Andrews, UN special rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Myanmar, following his December 12 visit to the United Kingdom, who expressed his rejection of the junta’s electoral plan. “I urge the UK Government to proactively reach out to other governments, particularly in Asia, to ensure they do the same,” he asked.
However, China, Russia and India support holding the elections. According to Yawnghwe, these countries do not support a military dictatorship, but they fear that if they do not intervene now, the country will collapse. “They believe that the elections will grant recognition to the regime and that this will help channel the crisis. But we think that this will not work. They will organize elections, they will say that they have won, that there is a new government, but the citizens will not accept it and the competition will not stop”, underlines the expert.
“Some argue that the elections represent a new start which, perhaps, gives us the opportunity to negotiate with the new civilian government. But as long as he (Min Aung Hlaing) remains at the head of the army, no government will dare to do anything against what the general wants. So it is not a new start, they will limit themselves to following him”, continues Yawnghwe, his plea to convince European leaders not to accept the results. “So far, they do not recognize the junta, but we fear that if they change their position, they will leave the democracy movement in Myanmar on the brink of collapse. We advocate that the international community does not legitimize the elections. It would be a mistake for countries, to be practical, to recognize the results. If this process is recognized, people will lose confidence in the elections,” he adds.
“The people of Myanmar have demonstrated extraordinary courage. They deserve an international response that matches their resolve,” demanded Andrews. “The UK can play a decisive role and now is the time to act. » The UN special rapporteur for human rights in Mayanmar also calls on ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) leaders to “strongly reject” plans by Myanmar’s military junta to hold elections which he describes as “illegitimate” because “intended to consolidate military rule and relieve international pressure”.
“Recognizing the junta’s fraudulent elections would mean taking Myanmar backwards and defending the indefensible,” Andrews said. “ASEAN leaders must refrain from doing anything that legitimizes the junta’s farce, including sending observers to monitor the elections. » And he ruled: “Elections cannot be free, fair or credible if they take place amid military violence and repression, with political leaders detained and fundamental freedoms destroyed. »
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