Myanmar is set to hold heavily restricted elections on Sunday, with the ruling military junta portraying the vote as a return to democracy five years after it ousted the country’s last elected government, a move that plunged the nation into civil war.
Polling will take place only in junta-controlled areas, including Yangon, Mandalay and the capital Naypyidaw, where the first of three voting rounds is scheduled to begin at 6 am Myanmar time. Large parts of the country under rebel control will see no voting, according to reports.
The country of around 50 million people has been gripped by conflict since the military seized power in February 2021. Former leader Aung San Suu Kyi has remained in detention since then, facing charges ranging from corruption to violations of Covid-19 rules. Her party was dissolved the same year, along with most political parties that contested the 2020 elections.
In the run-up to the polls, the junta carried out military offensives to reclaim territory, even as public rallies associated with Suu Kyi’s earlier campaigns were reported.
The military-backed Union Solidarity and Development Party is widely expected to emerge as the main winner, with critics arguing the process amounts to a rebranding of martial rule rather than a genuine democratic exercise. Many citizens displaced by fighting and air strikes have said the elections cannot be free or fair under current conditions.
The United Nations rights chief and several Western diplomats have criticised the month-long, phased voting process, citing widespread violence, repression and a lack of political freedom. UN human rights chief Volker Türk has said the polls are taking place in an environment marked by fear and coercion.