Fear and silence mark Myanmar’s general election under military rule

Nevin Al Sukari - Sana'a - YANGON, Dec 27 — Campaigning ahead of Myanmar’s general election 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 junta 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 ‍junta insists the election has popular backing, the vote has been widely criticised by the United Nations, Western governments and human rights ‌groups as an attempt by the military to entrench its rule through political proxies.

Three residents of Myanmar’s commercial capital Yangon, parts of which will vote on Sunday, said they remember past campaigns being rife with activity, including lively rallies, noisy road shows and large gatherings.

“This time, the candidates did not really come out on the streets. I only see sign ‍boards on the streets about them,” said a 31-year-old from Yangon, who asked not to be named because of security concerns.

“I am someone who goes out the whole day, but I don’t see any candidates campaigning even for USDP and for smaller parties,” he added, referring to the military-aligned Union Solidarity and Development Party.

After the first phase on Sunday, the military-led administration will hold two more on January 11 and January 25, covering areas across 265 of Myanmar’s 330 townships.

Dates for counting votes and announcing the results have not been declared.

A decade ago, when Myanmar held its second election since the end of five decades of military rule in 2011, streets were awash with sign boards and flags in the signature red of Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy (NLD), creating a carnival-like atmosphere.

Even the 2020 election, subdued by Covid-19 restrictions, had a more visible campaign, four people said.

In the city of Mandalay, about 600 km (370 miles) north of Yangon, ‍the lack of campaigning is ‍palpable, with no sustained canvassing for votes just days ahead of the polls, two residents said.

“The only real activity is the setting up of campaign billboards,” 36-year-old Nwe told Reuters, adding that the few rallies being held were under guard.

“When parties campaign in neighbourhoods, they don’t go alone,” she said, “They travel in groups with security.”

The USDP, led by former generals from Myanmar’s armed forces known as the Tatmadaw, has the most visible campaign presence on the streets, all five voters said.

Polls under fear

The United Nations said on Tuesday that civilians were being threatened over their participation in the polls, both by Myanmar’s military authorities and by armed groups opposing the Tatmadaw.

“These elections are clearly taking place in an environment of violence and repression,” said UN Human Rights Chief Volker Turk.

All five residents interviewed by Reuters said they had received no direct instruction from junta officials asking them to vote, although there was fear of the ‌consequences of not casting their ballot.

The shadow National Unity Government, which contains remnants of the NLD and other anti-junta entities, said it was not putting pressure on people to abstain from voting.

Mandalay resident Nwe said people worry that not voting could lead to travel ‍restrictions and other repercussions.

“Rumours are rampant, so even though there is no official news, people are privately terrified,” she said.

In Yangon, a 34-year-old resident said ‌his family doesn’t want him ‍to vote, fearing that he might be included in a military conscription scheme that the Tatmadaw enacted in 2024.

“For me, I am scared of getting arrested if I ‍don’t vote,” he told Reuters.

Ahead of the polls, Myanmar’s junta has said the election is not being conducted with coercion, force or suppression.

In an opinion piece on Thursday, ‍the state-run Global New Light of Myanmar argued that observers were wrong to judge the upcoming ⁠polls by Western standards.

“They fail to see that ‍for ordinary citizens, this election – however imperfect – is an exit strategy from the state of emergency and a path back into a legal framework,” it said. — Reuters