Myanmar Holds Elections Following Five-Year Civil War

Share this @internewscast.com

Millions of people in Myanmar will head to the polls on Sunday, the first election since the nation’s junta ousted its elected government in 2021.

The military has framed the vote as a return to democracy, after it mounted a coup to override the results of the 2020 election, triggering a civil war.

Human rights and opposition groups have said the election would be neither free nor fair, and that power was likely to remain in the hands of the country’s military leader, senior general Min Aung Hlaing.

Richard Horsey, an adviser for the International Crisis Group, said the military had only allowed selective candidates who wouldn’t pose a threat to the military’s grip on power.

According to experts, the upcoming election isn’t genuinely about public engagement. Instead, it’s perceived as a strategic maneuver to ensure a decisive victory for the military’s preferred political party. Such a victory would allow the country to transition from outright military rule to a more semi-civilian or quasi-civilian governance model.

In the political process, each of the three main parliamentary bodies—the lower house, the upper house, and the military—selects a vice president from their members. Subsequently, the entire parliament votes to choose one of these three vice presidents as the nation’s president.

Under Myanmar’s electoral system, seats in parliament will be allocated under a combined first-past-the-post and proportional representation system.

Regardless of the outcome of the vote, a military-drafted constitution dictates that a quarter of the nation’s parliamentary seats be reserved for the armed forces.

Tragically, over one million Rohingya refugees, who remain stateless, will not have the opportunity to participate in this electoral process.

Right group Asian Network for Free Elections said the system heavily favours larger parties, and the criteria to register as a nationwide party able to contest seats in multiple areas have been tightened, leading to only six of the 57 parties being qualified.

According to the election watchdog, over one-fifth of candidates come from the Union Solidarity and Development Party, which is known for its pro-military stance.

Despite its 55 million population, not everyone in Myanmar can cast a vote.

A military-run census last year admitted it couldn’t collect data from an estimated 19 million people, citing “security constraints”.

Amidst these tensions, there have been reports concerning the health of Suu Kyi. However, the military junta has assured that she remains “in good health.”

The results of this contentious election are anticipated by the end of January.

Former democratic leader and Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi was detained after the military coup in 2021.

Her party, the National League for Democracy, is not taking part in this election, despite a landslide win in 2020.

In a recent interview with Reuters news agency, Suu Kyi’s son Kim Aris expressed concerns about Suu Kyi’s health and safety, saying he hadn’t heard from his mother in years.

Meanwhile, the United Nations has reported alarming figures, estimating that more than 3.6 million individuals have been displaced due to conflicts that erupted following the 2021 coup. Additionally, over 6,800 civilians have tragically lost their lives as a result of these ongoing conflicts.

In mid-December, Myanmar authorities said they had arrested over 200 people under a new law that protected against the undermining of elections.

However, the authorities didn’t offer more details about the punishment these people would face.

The results of this election are expected in late January.

Myanmar’s humanitarian crisis worsens

Since the civil war began in 2021, Myanmar has been battling one of Asia’s most severe humanitarian crises.

The country also recorded repeated natural disasters, including a massive earthquake in March.

The United Nations (UN) estimates that over 3.6 million people have been displaced, with over 6,800 civilians killed in conflicts triggered by the 2021 coup.

With the US cutting its international aid, the UN’s World Food Programme estimates that over 12 million people in Myanmar will face acute hunger next year, including one million who will need lifesaving support.

The ongoing violence and disruption, Myanmar’s economy has been volatile, as inflation is expected to remain above 20 per cent in the next term.

— With additional reporting from Agence France-Presse and Reuters.