Myanmar junta stages election after five years of civil war

Myanmar's junta is set to preside over voting starting Sunday (December 28, 2025) , touting heavily restricted polls as a return to democracy five years after it ousted the last elected government, triggering civil war. Former civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi remains jailed and her hugely popular party dissolved after soldiers ended the nation's decade-long democratic experiment in February 2021. Also Read | Myanmar junta says Suu Kyi ‘in good health’ after son raises alarm International monitors have dismissed the phased month-long vote as a rebranding of martial rule, citing a ballot stacked with military allies and a stark crackdown on dissent. The country of around 50 million is riven by civil war, and the vote will not take place in rebel-held areas. In junta-controlled territory, the first of three rounds of voting is due from 6:00 a.m. Sunday (2330 GMT Saturday), including in constituencies in the cities of Yangon, Mandalay and the capital Naypyidaw. "The military are just trying to legalise the power they took by force," one resident of the northern city of Myitkyina told AFP, pledging to boycott the poll. The run-up has seen none of the feverish public rallies that Suu Kyi could command, with just a smattering of low-key events. "Almost no one is interested in this election. But some are worried they may face trouble if they abstain," said the Myitkyina resident, 33, speaking anonymously for security reasons. Junta chief Min Aung Hlaing has not responded to AFP requests for interview. But his remarks paraphrased in state media promote polls as a chance for reconciliation, while admitting the military "will continue to play a role in the country's political leadership" after results are in. Under Myanmar's current constitution, 25 percent of parliamentary seats are reserved for the armed forces. Suu Kyi sidelined The military ruled Myanmar for most of its post-independence history before a 10-year interlude saw a civilian government take the reins in a burst of optimism and reform. But after Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy (NLD) party trounced pro-military opponents in 2020 elections, Min Aung Hlaing snatched power in a coup, alleging widespread voter fraud. Suu Kyi is serving a 27-year sentence for offences ranging from corruption to breaching Covid-19 restrictions, charges rights monitors dismiss as politically motivated. "I don't think she would consider these elections to be meaningful in any way," her son Kim Aris said from his home in Britain. The NLD has been dissolved along with most parties that took part in the 2020 vote, when 90% of the seats went to organisations that will not appear on Sunday's ballots, according to the Asian Network for Free Elections. The pro-military Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP) is by far the biggest participant, providing more than a fifth of all candidates, it added. New electronic voting machines will not allow write-in candidates or spoiled ballots. Meanwhile, the junta is pursuing prosecutions against more than 200 people for violating draconian legislation forbidding "disruption" of the poll, including protest or...

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