170 civilians killed amid Myanmar’s sham vote

At least 170 civilians were killed in military air strikes during Myanmar’s fraught election period, the United Nations has revealed, underscoring the violence and fear that overshadowed the vote.

The UN rights office said “credible sources” had documented the deaths alongside more than 400 aerial attacks between December 2025 and late January, when the final round of voting took place. The figures, officials warned, may be incomplete due to restricted communications and the reluctance of witnesses to speak out.

The election itself has been widely condemned as a sham. The Union and Solidarity Party (USDP), backed by the military, claimed a sweeping victory, a result seen as inevitable given the tightly controlled process. Large swathes of the country, still engulfed in civil war, were unable to participate at all.

Since the 2021 coup that ousted and jailed Aung San Suu Kyi, Myanmar has been ruled by a junta determined to consolidate power. Her National League for Democracy, which had won previous elections by landslides, was barred from contesting this vote. Many observers believe the military is using proxy parties to entrench its grip on power.

UN rights chief Volker Turk described the election as “staged by the military”, noting that opposition candidates and ethnic groups were excluded. He said many citizens voted—or chose not to vote—out of fear, in stark contrast to their internationally guaranteed rights.

James Rodehaver, head of the UN’s Myanmar team, stressed that the violence was inseparable from the political process. “Conflict and insecurity continued unabated in large parts of the country,” he said, adding that the true toll may only emerge later.

International condemnation is mounting, with human rights groups and governments calling for accountability. For Myanmar’s people, however, the election has brought little hope of change—only further evidence of a nation trapped between war and authoritarian rule.

-2026-01-31