ANFREL warns Myanmar junta elections lack democratic legitimacy

Mizzima

The Asian Network for Free Elections (ANFREL) released a statement on 27 December warning that Myanmar’s junta-planned elections, scheduled to begin on 28 December, cannot be considered democratic or credible, citing widespread violence, human rights violations, and the exclusion of large parts of the population as conditions that fundamentally undermine any genuine electoral process.

ANFREL is gravely alarmed by intensified violence against civilians nationwide, including airstrikes, shelling, arbitrary arrests, and village raids that disproportionately affect women, children, and ethnic minority communities. Such a situation makes it impossible to guarantee voter safety or conduct electoral activities freely or fairly. Elections held amid ongoing armed conflict and systematic human rights violations cannot reflect the will of the people.

Large areas of the country are expected to be excluded from the polls due to conflict, resistance control, and administrative collapse, particularly in ethnic and resistance-held areas. The systematic exclusion of significant segments of the population raises serious concerns about the representativeness and inclusiveness of the process and fails to meet basic democratic standards.

In addition, ANFREL raises serious doubts about the credibility of voter turnout figures and election results to be announced by the junta control Union Election Commission. In the absence of independent observation, transparent procedures, free media, and trusted electoral institutions, any declared results will lack legitimacy.

Taken together, these conditions demonstrate that the junta-planned elections lack legitimacy, inclusiveness, and integrity. Elections conducted under military rule, amid widespread conflict and repression, cannot contribute to democratic transition or political stability and risk further entrenching illegitimate rule and violence.