The United Nations on Tuesday (Dec 23) accused Myanmar’s ruling military junta of using violence, intimidation and mass arrests to force people to participate in upcoming military-controlled elections, while warning that armed opposition groups are also employing coercive tactics to deter voters, further deepening the country’s human rights crisis.
In a strongly worded statement, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk said civilians across Myanmar were being squeezed between the military authorities and armed resistance groups as voting is set to begin on Sunday. The phased election process is expected to run for about a month.
“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, adding that the current environment makes any claim of democratic legitimacy impossible.
Myanmar’s junta has promoted the elections as a return to democracy nearly five years after it overthrew the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi in February 2021. That coup abruptly ended a decade-long experiment with civilian rule and plunged the country into a nationwide civil war involving ethnic armed groups and newly formed resistance forces.
However, Suu Kyi remains jailed under a raft of convictions widely condemned by international observers, while her National League for Democracy (NLD) party—by far the country’s most popular political force—has been dissolved. Most opposition parties have been barred from contesting the polls, and large swathes of the country remain under conflict or emergency rule.
International monitors and rights groups have dismissed the elections as an attempt to rebrand military rule. Türk himself said last month that holding polls under current conditions was “unfathomable,” a position he reiterated on Tuesday.
The UN rights office reported that dozens of people have been detained under an “election protection law” simply for exercising their right to free expression. Many face “extremely harsh sentences,” the statement said, citing the case of three youths in Yangon’s Hlainghaya Township who were sentenced to between 42 and 49 years in prison for hanging anti-election posters.
The UN also raised alarm over reports that internally displaced people were being pressured to return to their home areas to vote, despite ongoing fighting and insecurity. Displaced communities in regions including Mandalay were allegedly warned they could face attacks or have their homes seized if they failed to return for polling.
“Forcing displaced people to undertake unsafe and involuntary returns is a human rights violation,” Türk said, stressing that civilians must not be coerced into participation under threat.
At the same time, the UN said armed groups opposed to the military were also using intimidation and violence to discourage voter participation. Türk highlighted the reported abduction last month of nine women teachers from Kyaikto town, who were travelling to attend election-related training. They were later released but warned against taking part in the voting process.
The statement also pointed to attacks claimed by the self-declared Yangon Army, which reportedly bombed local administration offices in Hlegu and North Okkalapa townships in Yangon Region. Several election staff were injured in the blasts, and the group has vowed to continue targeting election organisers.
“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.”
Myanmar’s conflict has displaced millions and killed tens of thousands since the 2021 coup. As the military presses ahead with elections amid widespread fighting and repression, the UN warned that the vote risks further entrenching instability rather than paving a path toward peace or genuine democracy.
