Myanmar’s ‘Election’ Overshadowed by Fear and War

In Mandalay, voters queued at the golden Eain Daw Yar Pagoda under the roar of fighter jets, a stark reminder that Myanmar’s first election since the 2021 coup is taking place against the backdrop of civil war. While the junta hails the polls as proof of stability, the reality on the ground tells a different story.

Security personnel monitored foreign journalists closely, and locals were reluctant to speak, fearing reprisals. At night, rocket fire and airstrikes battered nearby villages held by resistance forces, underscoring the brutality of a conflict that has already claimed more than 80,000 lives, according to independent monitors.

The military, branded one of the world’s deadliest regimes, is attempting to rehabilitate its image. Contracts signed with US-based PR firms last year were aimed at easing sanctions and presenting Myanmar as ready to rejoin the international fold. The election is central to that narrative. Officials claimed over 50 per cent turnout in the first phase of voting, calling it a “source of pride”.

Yet at polling stations in Mandalay, turnout was visibly lower than in past elections, when enthusiasm once drew crowds before dawn. On 28 December, only a trickle of voters arrived. Many admitted privately that they were voting out of fear, not conviction.

That fear is tied to the junta’s enforcement of conscription laws since 2024. Men aged 18 to 35 and women aged 18 to 27 face mandatory service, with specialists required to serve longer. Residents told reporters that unless families pay off officers, young people are forced into the military and sent to conflict zones.

The Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP), widely seen as the junta’s proxy, has already claimed a commanding lead ahead of further rounds of voting this month. For many citizens, however, the election is little more than a performance designed to secure legitimacy.

“We will never trust the results,” one Naypyidaw resident said, explaining why her family chose to boycott. “They’re just seeking legitimacy. After the election, they will continue doing brutal things to the people.”

Behind the junta’s carefully staged image lies a country still gripped by war, intimidation and fear — realities the regime would rather the world did not see.

-2025-01-04