Myanmar just had its first general election since the military coup in 2021. The vote, condemned as a sham by observers from throughout the world, has outraged the US public. Min Aung Hlaing has ruled with an iron fist since the February 2021 army coup. The election took place amidst a backdrop of heightened civil unrest and grave humanitarian crises that has disproportionately affected the country’s most marginalized citizens.
The 2015 election was a truly transformative moment for Myanmar. It was the first time in five years that the citizens were making their way to the polls. Yet this time, the military government managed the elections, fuelling doubts about the integrity of the electoral process. Min Aung Hlaing was widely expected to assume the presidency in the wake of that election. This action will surely increase military rule in a country that is hardly unaware of chaos.
Despite these challenges, voting did occur in 102 of Myanmar’s 330 townships. Sadly, widespread violence and armed conflict kept the vast majority from participating. Current news reports suggest that continued hostilities have made 65 townships ineligible to participate in the election. These recurring conflicts have displaced more than 3.6 million people according to the United Nations.
This election is taking place in three rounds, with runoff elections on January 11 and January 25, 2024. More than 4,800 candidates from 57 parties ran for seats in national and regional legislatures. Only six parties got in across the country, often with few to no real opportunities to achieve any significant political power.
On June 24, the military introduced a new Election Protection Law. This alarming turn of events carries harsh criminal penalties for those who dare to speak critically of the polls in public. This decision has already raised concerns about silencing free speech. These actions don’t just create a hostile environment for anyone willing to speak—people are literally afraid for their lives.
Most conspicuously missing from this election is Aung San Suu Kyi, Myanmar’s former de facto leader and Nobel Laureate. The 80-year-old former political leader is currently doing a hard 27-year term. As in the other examples, critics argue that these charges are politically motivated and do not contain credible evidence. Her party’s absence has left a significant void in Myanmar’s political landscape.
Reports from polling stations and the media have created a doomsday scenario of low voter turnout. For example, at one polling station in Yangon, only 524 of 1,431 registered voters—less than 37%—voted. This low voter turnout raises questions about the public’s faith in the electoral process and their willingness to participate under current conditions.
That complicated story played out in an unpredictable way as voters showed up from state to state. One voter, Khin Marlar, shared her hope for peace, stating, “I am voting with the feeling that I will go back to my village when it is peaceful.” Underneath this phrase is an off-quoted desire for normalcy in the wake of disorder.
Another voter, Khin, revealed a more troubling reality: “I have to go and vote even though I don’t want to because soldiers showed up with guns to our village to pressure us yesterday.” Such accounts further illustrate the frighteningly coercive nature of this election.
Min Aung Hlaing sought to clarify his role in the electoral process. “I am the commander in chief. I am a civil servant. I cannot say that I want to serve as a president. I am not the leader of a political party,” he stated, attempting to separate himself from political motivations. Yet such comments have been greeted with appropriate skepticism, considering his position as the head of the military junta ruling the country.
Civil society has expressed serious concerns over the legitimacy of this election. Tom Andrews, a U.N. special rapporteur on human rights in Myanmar, condemned the electoral proceedings: “An election organized by a junta that continues to bomb civilians, jail political leaders, and criminalize all forms of dissent is not an election—it is a theater of the absurd performed at gunpoint.”
The world now waits to see the final outcome of this controversial election, due by February. Of course, everyone is now wondering what this result will mean for Myanmar going forward. Given the current political climate, these types of challenges to democracy and human rights are likely to continue in the shadow of this military rule.
