Myanmar needs free, fair, inclusive and credible elections, the United Nations (UN) said on Sunday. The country is holding its first election since a military coup in 2021, with critics calling it a sham designed to keep the military in power and create the illusion of legitimacy. TASR informs about it according to the report of the AFP agency.
- The UN calls for free and fair elections in Myanmar.
- The country is holding post-coup elections in 2021.
- Elections are held in several stages with results in February.
- The leader of the military junta calls on citizens to participate in the elections.
- Critics call the election a manipulation that keeps the military in power.
“It is essential that Myanmar’s future be decided by a free, fair, inclusive and credible process that reflects the will of its people,” the UN said during the first of three phases of elections for the now-dissolved bicameral parliament. At the same time, the organization emphasized that it “stands behind the people of Myanmar and their democratic ambitions.” The polling stations closed at 4:00 p.m. local time (10:30 a.m. CET) as part of the initial phase.
Voting in the elections takes place in three phases. The first round – on Sunday – was held in 102 of Myanmar’s 330 districts. The second phase will take place on January 11 and the third on January 25. Final results should be announced by February.
The leader calls for an election
The leader of Myanmar’s military junta, Min Aung Hlain, also voted on Sunday, calling on the country’s citizens to participate in the elections. “People should vote,” the 69-year-old junta leader told reporters. “If they don’t vote, I have to say they don’t fully understand what democracy really means,” he noted. Other generals, officers and government officials gradually arrived at the polling stations.
However, critics do not consider these elections to be free, fair or credible. Parties opposed to the ruling junta do not participate in them, while the opposition has announced to boycott them. Nobel Peace Prize laureate Aung San Suu Kyi remains in custody and her political party, the National League for Democracy, which won a landslide in the last election, has been disbanded.
More than 4,800 candidates from 57 political parties are running for seats in state and regional parliaments. However, only six of them are candidates at the national level with a real chance of gaining political influence. The strongest contender is the Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP), backed by the military and led by retired generals.
