6 d. ago Myanmar junta fails in bid to force high turnout for sham elections

Military-backed party claims victory in first phase of widely discredited three-part general election, with turnout down by some 18%

Politics

7 d. ago ‘We are always living in fear’: inside Myanmar’s ‘sham’ election

Myanmar’s military rulers are holding the first elections since the 2021 coup, and life in the country’s biggest city is fraught with anxiety Yangon feels, on the surface, like a normal, bustling city. In downtown areas, commuters stream past roadside sellers and diners perch beneath parasols. Packed buses and cars chug along the roads. At sunset, young people stop to pose for photos opposite the famous Sule pagoda, as it gleams against a pink-blue sky.But almost five years on from the military seized power in a coup, ousting and imprisoning then de facto leader Aung San Suu Kyi, life for local people feels anything but stable. Myanmar’s military rulers are in the process of holding the first elections since before the coup, a vote that the junta has touted as a return to democracy and stability. The UN and western governments have called the process, which will be held in three phases ending on 25 January, a sham. Continue reading...

Politics

1 week ago Polls close in first phase of Myanmar elections widely condemned as a sham

Turnout appears to be low in vote in which most candidates seen as allies of military junta and large areas excluded by warPolls have closed in conflict-racked Myanmar, ending the first phase of an election that has been widely condemned as a sham designed to legitimise the military junta’s rule.The military has touted the vote as a return to democracy almost five years after it seized power in a coup, ousting the country’s then de-facto leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, detaining her and sparking a spiralling civil war. Continue reading...

Politics

1 week ago Myanmar elections: voting begins under junta stranglehold with Aung San Suu Kyi banned

War with opposition groups means large areas are excluded from poll, while recent law prohibits criticising a process regarded internationally as a shamPolling stations have opened in some areas of conflict-racked Myanmar for an election that has been widely condemned as a sham designed to legitimise the military junta’s rule.The most popular party is banned from running in the election, and large areas of the country will be completely excluded because they are under the control of anti-junta groups or racked by fierce fighting. Continue reading...

Politics

1 week ago Myanmar votes in sham election under atmosphere of fear and coercion: ‘What will change? Nothing’

With only parties vetted by the military allowed to contest Myanmar’s first election in five years, Sara Perria speaks to people in Yangon and Mandalay who are heading out to vote because they are being forced – not out of any hope for a better future

Politics

2 w. ago Myanmar junta using ‘brutal violence’ to force people to vote in sham election, UN says

Prominent cultural figures have been handed harsh years-long prison sentences for questioning a state propaganda film

Politics