Myanmar Junta Blames Rebels for Election Violence

The Irrawaddy

Myanmar’s military rulers have accused rebel groups of carrying out “malicious and brutal” attacks during the opening phase of the country’s month-long election, claiming at least five civilians were injured in strikes involving drones, rockets and bombs.

The vote, launched on Sunday, is the junta’s attempt to present a return of power to the people after seizing control in a 2021 coup that plunged the nation into civil war. Yet the election has been widely condemned by Western governments, the United Nations and rights groups as a sham, with candidates largely drawn from military allies.

According to state media, pro-democracy guerrillas and ethnic minority forces opposed to the junta staged assaults in 11 of the 102 townships where ballots were cast. Reports said polling stations, government buildings and civilian areas were targeted, with the junta-run Global New Light of Myanmar accusing rebels of spreading false information, issuing threats and blocking voters from reaching polling sites.

Despite the violence, the pro-military Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP) has already claimed a sweeping lead, saying it secured 82 of the 102 lower house seats contested in the first phase. Analysts describe the USDP as a proxy designed to entrench military power under a civilian guise.

The last election in 2020 saw the USDP heavily defeated by Aung San Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy, which was dissolved after the coup. Suu Kyi herself has remained in detention since the military takeover.

As Myanmar’s conflict continues, the election is seen by critics as deepening divisions rather than offering a credible path forward, with rebel groups vowing to block the process across the territories they control.

-2025-12-31