‘We Know It’s a Sham’: Inked Fingers Become Mark of Shame in Junta Election

Ko Lu Aye and his wife Ma Thida scrubbed the blue ink from their fingers with nail polish remover within minutes of returning home from a polling station in Insein Township, Yangon.

They did not want to be seen.

Under election rules, each voter’s little finger is marked with blue dye after casting their ballot. But for many in Myanmar, inked fingers have become a mark of shame—evidence of participation in elections held by a military regime that seized power in a coup, jailed elected leaders and continues to kill civilians daily.