Myanmar Junta Tightens Control Over Upcoming Elections

GNLM

Myanmar’s ruling junta has amended election laws to allow government staff — many of them ex-military — to chair electoral bodies nationwide, raising fresh doubts about the credibility of polls expected later this year.

Under the changes, announced this week by junta chief Min Aung Hlaing, local election sub-commissions will no longer require independent leadership. Instead, they may now be chaired by civil servants or members of the public, with an election officer acting as secretary. In practice, this opens the door for regime-aligned officials to oversee the electoral process from top to bottom.

Critics say the move effectively hands the military full control of the voting system, from national bodies down to village-level stations. Ko Ko, the head of the Union Election Commission, is himself a former air force officer.

Previously, sub-commissions required at least one independent chair and two professional members, offering a degree of oversight. That safeguard is now gone.

During a recent visit to Pyin Oo Lwin, Min Aung Hlaing told civil servants they must "serve the state" above politics — a statement seen by many as a warning to toe the junta line. In past elections, schoolteachers and non-partisan staff traditionally ran polling stations.

The regime is also pressing ahead with training for electronic voting machines in several conflict-affected regions, including Shan, Kayah, Magwe and Sagaing. Voter lists are being prepared by the military-controlled Immigration Ministry alongside other departments.

The military-backed Union Solidarity and Development Party has already declared its intention to participate, but opposition parties and rights groups say the process is a façade for continued authoritarian rule.

With much of the country still in open rebellion and martial law in place across dozens of townships, few expect the planned vote — tentatively set for December or January — to be either free or fair.

As preparations continue, so too does resistance from pro-democracy forces, who have rejected the junta’s roadmap and accuse it of trying to legitimise its grip on power through a sham election.

-2025-06-23