By Vibhu Mishra
28 November
2025
Jeremy Laurence, a spokesperson for the UN human
rights office, OHCHR, told
reporters in Geneva that voting is expected to begin on 28
December, in what he described as a military-controlled
ballot conducted in an environment “rife with threats and
violence” and actively suppressed political
participation.
Many major political parties have been
excluded and more than 30,000 political opponents –
including members of the democratically elected government
and political representatives – have been detained since
the 2021
coup.
“Far from being a process that
could spearhead a political transition from crisis to
stability and the restoration of democratic and civilian
rule, this process seems nearly certain to further ingrain
insecurity, fear and polarisation throughout the
country,” Mr. Laurence said.
“The utmost
priority must be to end the violence and ensure the flow of
humanitarian aid.”
Civilians caught in the
middle
Speaking from Bangkok, James Rodehaver, head
of OHCHR’s Myanmar team, said
the elections are being pushed through in an
environment where civilians are caught between pressure from
the military to vote and aggressive efforts by armed
opposition groups to prevent
participation.
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The junta has claimed it
issued some 4,000 pardons for people charged or convicted of
sedition or incitement. But Mr. Rodehaver said such
announcements rarely match reality.
Of the roughly
4,000 people convicted, only about 550 have been seen
leaving detention centres, while others were freed only to
be rearrested. At the same time, the military has boasted of
arresting more than 100 people under newly imposed
“election protection rules.”
OHCHR has credible
information that three young people were sentenced to 49
years in prison for hanging posters showing a ballot box
with a bullet.
AI and biometric tracking
Mr.
Rodehaver also raised concerns over the
electronic-only voting system, introduced alongside expanded
surveillance using artificial intelligence and biometric
tracking, warning that it risks further undermining
trust in the process.
Humanitarian access is also
deteriorating, with civilians forced to return to villages
to vote despite insecurity, while the military continues a
long-standing practice of blocking aid to conflict-affected
areas. Nearly 23,000 people remain in detention who
“should not have been arrested in the first place,” he
said.
The UN rights officials noted that the military
is presenting the vote as a sign the crisis is ending,
despite the Secretary-General’s warning
in October that under current conditions any elections
“risk further exclusion and instability.”
‘A
charade’
Beyond the concerns raised by the UN
officials, the independent rights expert on Myanmar has
issued an even starker warning about the junta’s election
plans.
In his October 2025 report
to the General Assembly, Special
Rapporteur Tom Andrews said the international community
should “unequivocally reject and denounce the charade”
of the junta’s planned elections.
Mr. Andrews –
who is appointed and mandated by the Human
Rights Council and is not a UN staff member – said
recent institutional changes by the military were merely
“cosmetic,” designed to reposition the junta for its
election ploy while power remains concentrated in the hands
of military leaders.
Key opposition figures –
including Aung San Suu Kyi – remain imprisoned, and
at least 40 political parties, including the
National League for Democracy (NLD), have been
dissolved.
New electoral laws criminalise
dissent, restrict digital expression and impose harsh
penalties for perceived election “disruption,” while
vast areas of the country remain outside military control,
making a nationwide vote impossible, the report
said.
“Elections held on the junta’s terms
will only deepen division and fuel further
violence,” Mr. Andrews warned, adding that while
the people of Myanmar are expected to “reject the results
as illegitimate”, the junta’s true target audience is
foreign governments whose recognition it
seeks.
