Trouble-torn Myanmar (also known as Burma or Brahmadesh), adjacent to northeast India, is going for the next general elections on 28 December, even though the multi-phase polls will prevent several important political parties including Aung San Suu Kyi-led National League for Democracy (NLD, which won the last general elections held in November 2020) from participating in the electoral exercise. The elections, proposed after the military coup in 2021 that ousted a democratically elected government in Naypyitaw, will be joined by only Burmese military-aligned parties meaning it would be one sided in their favour. However, the Buddhist majority southeast Asian nation of nearly 55 million people is currently witnessing a kind of civil war, where the Min Aung Hlaing-led Tatmadaw continue fighting the people’s militia, resulting in thousands being killed, hundred thousand detained and millions displaced across the poverty stricken country. In various battles under Operation 1027, which was launched in October 2024 by the anti-junta rebel groups, the government forces faced humiliating defeats and by now half of the Burmese territories comprising important towns and military bases had gone out of the military’s control.
The voting in those localities will be either impossible or lowly participating and hence a free, fair and comprehensive election in the Land of Golden Pagodas remains elusive. The military junta established Union Election Commission (UEC) revealed that the second and third phases of polling are scheduled for 11 and 25 January 2026, and the exercise is supposed to cover around 274 out of 330 townships (loosely termed for constituencies). As the anti-junta people’s defence forces, ethnic armed groups and revolutionary organizations maintain significant influence across the international broad localities, the voter registration as well as polling may be severely affected. The UEC had already deregistered a number of political parties citing the reasons for not fulfilling necessary criteria including one to possess a certain number of members and functioning offices. Nearly 40 political parties, including the NLD, did not re-register with the Burmese electoral authority as the crackdown against pro-democracy armed resistance units continued putting over 22,000 political prisoners (including President Win Myint and Nobel peace laureate Suu Kyi) in jail even today. Moreover, only six political parties are allowed to field candidates nationwide and hence the forthcoming polls will never enjoy due credibility. The critics and observers both within and outside Myanmar have argued that any election held under the current circumstances cannot be inclusive and credible. Since the 2021 coup, thousands of political activists, journalists, and ordinary citizens have been arrested, and many have been tortured or killed. An exile regime, named National Unity Government (NUG, primarily formed by the elected representatives, who were not allowed to take charge) has urged the international community to denounce the junta’s sham election and prevent any poll-observers to Myanmar. The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) leaders, often criticized for their feeble voices against the Burmese junta, decided not to send election observers from the member-countries to Myanmar during polls.
The Geneva-based global media safety and rights body Press Emblem Campaign (PEC), while urging the Myanmar military regime to release all media professionals, demanded to abolish new election interference law that continues harassing scribes and social media users in the name of clean-up efforts as a prelude to the multi-phase elections. The PEC sources revealed that over 200 journalists were detained and imprisoned since the 2021 coup overthrowing the democratically elected Suu Kyi’s government and nearly 40 media professionals are still behind the bars across the trouble-torn country. The junta also cancelled permits of around 15 media outlets, compelling them to work from hideouts, and the foreign media has largely been restricted. All the neighboring countries including India, which has a major investment in the under-construction Kaladan riverine project, expressed their concern over the continued instability on border localities and also influx of Myanmarese migrants. New Delhi will always prefer a democratic regime in Myanmar to continue bilateral relations and also engage in the future course of actions for the benefit of people residing either sides of the international borders. For the time being, hopes are being floated relentlessly.
When a neighbour goes to debatable polls
