GENEVA, Dec 23 — The United Nations has sounded the alarm over the conditions under which Myanmar’s upcoming elections are being held, warning that ordinary citizens are facing pressure and threats from both the ruling junta and armed opposition groups.
In a statement released today, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk said the military authorities were using “brutal violence” and arbitrary arrests to compel people to vote, while some anti-junta armed groups were resorting to abductions, bombings and threats in a bid to deter participation in the polls.
“The military authorities in Myanmar must stop using brutal violence to compel people to vote and stop arresting people for expressing any dissenting views,” Türk said.
The elections — set to begin on Sunday and run over several weeks — are being promoted by the junta as a path back to civilian rule. They come five years after the military toppled Aung San Suu Kyi’s elected government in February 2021, plunging the country into civil war and reversing a decade of halting democratic progress.
Yet the very elements that made previous elections meaningful are now absent: Suu Kyi herself remains imprisoned, her party has been forcibly dissolved, and many of the country’s political leaders, activists and journalists are either in jail, in hiding or in exile. Against that backdrop, many international observers see the polls as a tightly controlled exercise designed to legitimise continued military dominance.
Türk’s office set out a series of recent incidents that, it says, demonstrate how far the current environment falls short of the standards required for a genuine, participatory vote.
Dozens of individuals have reportedly been detained under an “election protection law” after expressing anti-election views or engaging in peaceful acts of protest. Several have received sentences that the UN describes as “extremely harsh” and disproportionate to their actions.
Among them are three young people from Hlainghaya Township in the Yangon region, who were sentenced to between 42 and 49 years in prison after they hung up posters opposing the elections. For the UN, this is emblematic of how freedom of expression is being crushed in the name of protecting the electoral process.
The UN rights office has also received reports from internally displaced people in regions such as Mandalay, who said they were told they might face attacks or have their homes seized if they did not return to their original communities to vote. Many of these people had fled the very areas now being used as leverage against them.
“Forcing displaced people to undertake unsafe and involuntary returns is a human rights violation,” Türk said, warning that such practices could compound the already dire humanitarian and protection crisis facing millions in Myanmar.
However, the UN’s criticism is not directed at the junta alone. Armed opposition groups seeking to disrupt or delegitimise the elections have also been accused of endangering civilians and electoral staff.
In one reported incident, nine women teachers from Kyaikto were abducted while travelling to attend a ballot training session. Although they were later released, they were allegedly warned by their captors not to assist or participate in the election process.
In another case, a group calling itself the “Yangon Army” claimed responsibility for bombing administration offices in Hlegu and North Okkalapa townships in the Yangon region, injuring several election staff. The group has vowed to continue targeting election organisers, creating additional risks for civil servants and volunteers involved in the polls.
Taken together, these incidents highlight a deeply insecure and repressive environment in which voters, candidates and officials alike must operate.
“These elections are clearly taking place in an environment of violence and repression,” Türk said.
“There are no conditions for the exercise of the rights of freedom of expression, association or peaceful assembly that allow for the free and meaningful participation of the people.”
The UN’s assessment underscores a core principle of democratic practice: that elections are not merely about casting ballots, but about the broader freedoms that allow citizens to make informed choices without fear. In Myanmar today, the UN suggests, those conditions are palpably absent — leaving many to question whether the forthcoming polls can be considered legitimate at all.