Tag: burma

Burma Election Phase 1: No Hope for Federal Democracy With Opposition Banned

The Burma (Myanmar) election leaves observers asking whether it can truly be called a legitimate election when opposition parties and much of the population are prohibited from participating.

Burma’s military junta held the first round of its 2025 election on December 28, marking the first vote since overthrowing the country’s democratically elected government in 2021. Participation was sharply limited, with only about one-third of eligible voters casting ballots. Voting took place only in areas under military control, effectively disenfranchising large segments of the population living in conflict zones that comprise roughly 70 percent of the country’s territory.

As voting began, the Union Election Commission announced that nine additional townships had been added to the list where voting could not take place due to ongoing armed conflict. The newly excluded areas included three townships in Chin State, two in Sagaing Division, and four in Rakhine State, bringing the total number of townships entirely excluded from elections to 65, up from 56.

The UEC also confirmed that Phases 1 and 2 could not be held in 51 village tracts in Karenni State, and that Phase 3 elections scheduled for January 25 would not take place in 10 village tracts in Pekhon Township. In total, 134 townships are now affected either fully or partially, setting a record for the highest number of areas where elections could not be conducted in Burma’s history.

The election is being held in three phases across 265 of 330 townships, with the second round on January 11 and third round on January 25. Final results are expected to be announced by the end of January 2026.

One Yangon polling station recorded turnout of just under 37 percent, well below participation levels in the 2020 election won by Aung San Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy. In Karenni State and other areas controlled by revolutionary forces, residents rejected the process, saying the election is neither free nor fair and excludes large portions of the population displaced by war.

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Burma Army’s “Scorched Earth” Campaign Against Civilians Ahead of National Elections

Thick black smoke billows into the sky, twisting above the charred remains of what was once a thriving village. Flames consume wooden homes, their roofs collapsing as fire spreads relentlessly through the community. The air is heavy with the acrid scent of burning thatch and scorched earth, while displaced villagers watch helplessly from a distance, their lives reduced to ashes.

This scene of devastation followed a Burma Army airstrike on a civilian village in Arakan State on January 9, marking the start of another year of intensified fighting. After losing significant ground through February, the junta is now escalating attacks ahead of planned national elections, polls that exclude resistance-held territories and bar participation by pro-democracy parties. The regime’s objective is to recapture enough territory to present the election results to the international community as representing the will of the entire nation.

The attack in Arakan, like most strikes against civilians today, came without warning, sending families scrambling for cover as bombs rained down. Witnesses reported the deafening roar of jets overhead before the first explosion shattered the midday silence. Within minutes, homes, schools, and places of worship were engulfed in flames, leaving behind only smoldering ruins.

According to local reports, at least 42 civilians were killed and 50 others wounded, though the true death toll is believed to be much higher. Nearly 500 homes were reduced to rubble, forcing survivors to flee into nearby forests with whatever they could carry. The Burma Army has since cut off communication with the area, making it nearly impossible to assess the full extent of the destruction or deliver aid to those in desperate need.

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