Myanmar’s junta and a farce of an election

The elections presently underway in Myanmar can only be described as a sham.

- Karan Thapar

Conducted in three phases, starting at the end of December and concluding at the end of this month, a sentence from a recent report by the BBC pithily explains why this exercise will not restore the country’s democracy, snuffed out by a military coup in 2020. “With major political parties dissolved, leaders jailed, and with as much as half the country not expected to vote because of an ongoing civil war,” this isa pointless exercise.

Six parties, including the military-backed Union Solidarity and Development Party, are contesting elections nationwide, whilst another 51 parties and independent candidates are only fighting at the state or regional level.