Conflict and fear sap campaign energy ahead of Myanmar election

Campaigning ahead of Myanmar’s regime elections that begins on Sunday has been shorn of the energy of previous polls, residents said, as voting is scheduled amid a civil war and a humanitarian crisis as well as wide criticism that it is a sham to help the military perpetuate power.

Myanmar has been in the throes of a nationwide conflict since the military deposed an elected government led by Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi in a 2021 coup, alleging poll fraud in a general election held the preceding year.

Although the regime in Naypyidaw insists the election has popular backing, the vote has been widely criticized by the United Nations, Western governments and human rights groups as an attempt by the military to entrench its rule through political proxies.