Myanmar’s Junta Moves Forward With ‘Sham’ Election While Facing Shocking Atrocity Allegations

Myanmar has announced it will hold its first general election since a 2021 coup saw the elected government, led by Aung San Suu Kyi, overthrown and the junta seize power.

The phased poll is widely considered as illegitimate and experts believe it is a fraudulent play to enforce junta control.

“The first phase of the multi-party democratic general election for each parliament will begin on Sunday, 28 December 2025,” Myanmar’s election commission said in a statement.

It added that dates for the subsequent phases will be announced later due to security concerns.

The death penalty is among the harshest measures for disrupting the election

In recent weeks, the junta has tightened election laws and introduced new penalties for anyone accused of disrupting the vote.

Among the harshest measures is the death penalty, applied in cases where an alleged attempt to disrupt the election causes someone’s death.

There were mass protests following the 2021 coup.  Image credits: Hkun Lat/Getty Images

The measures are widely seen as intimidation tactics, and Western governments have already said they will not recognize the outcome.

The junta is a group of military leaders, led by Gen. Min Aung Hlaing, who seized control of the country and claimed an earlier election was fraudulent.

There is no evidence to back up this claim.

Since then, the military has struggled to maintain control and large parts of Myanmar remain under opposition rule, namely ethnic armed groups and pro-democracy forces.

Civil war has been raging and millions of people have been displaced, with thousands killed.

The junta is led by Gen. Min Aung Hlaing.  Image credits: Contributor/Getty Images

Groups that oppose the junta rule were earlier this year banned from participating in the election, Reuters reported.

Other ethnic armed groups, who have been clashing with the military since the 2021 coup, have said they will not allow people to vote in the areas under their control.

State media reported that nine out of the 55 political parties that registered plan to compete nationwide.

UN Special Rapporteur on human rights in Myanmar, Tom Andrews, previously urged the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) to reject the planned election.

“What the junta alleges will be an ‘election’ will in fact be a dangerous fraud,” he said in July.

The Malaysian FM told his ASEAN colleagues that “peace, trust and inclusivity” must be the foundation for a meaningful election in Myanmar. It is indisputable that such a foundation does not exist. What the junta alleges will be an “election” will in fact be a dangerous fraud.

— UN Special Rapporteur Tom Andrews (@RapporteurUn) July 9, 2025

Earlier this year, Human Rights Watch said the junta would be “delusional” to think an election would be “remotely credible.”

“As a precursor to elections, they need to end the violence, release all those arbitrarily detained, and allow all political parties to register and participate instead of dissolving opposition parties,” it said.

A new report revealed evidence of systematic torture and sexual violence

It comes after a new report revealed evidence of systematic torture and sexual violence in Myanmar, which the UN describes as a pattern of atrocities.

The Independent Investigative Mechanism for Myanmar (IIMM) released its annual report last week and said it had made “important progress” documenting crimes and identifying those responsible.

It found evidence of torture in Myanmar’s detention facilities between July 1, 2024, and June 30, 2025.

Resistance group Tabayin People’s Defense Force Battalion 12.  Image credits: Thu Myae/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images

The IIMM said that included beatings, electric shocks, strangulations, gang rape, burning of sexual body parts, and other forms of sexual violence.

“We have uncovered significant evidence, including eyewitness testimony, showing systematic torture in Myanmar detention facilities,” said Nicholas Koumjian, head of IIMM.

“We have made headway in identifying the perpetrators, including the commanders who oversee these facilities, and we stand ready to support any jurisdictions willing and able to prosecute these crimes.”

Human Rights Watch said that more than 1,900 people have died while in junta custody as of 2024, but it estimates the figure to be much higher.

Aung San Suu Kyi was overthrown in 2021 and jailed.  Image credits: PIERRE EMMANUEL DELETREE/Pool/Getty Images)

The IIMM report also detailed investigations into air attacks on schools, homes, and hospitals, which have injured and killed civilians.

Those air attacks remained ongoing amid rescue efforts following an earthquake in March that killed over 5,000 people, the IIMM said.

“Our Report highlights a continued increase in the frequency and brutality of atrocities committed in Myanmar,” Koumjian said.

“We are working towards the day when the perpetrators will have to answer for their actions in a court of law.”

The evidence was collated using nearly 1,300 sources, including 600 eyewitness testimonies, photographs, videos, documents, maps and forensic evidence.

A protest against the military coup in 2021.  Image credits: Hkun Lat/Getty Images

It has been passed to the International Criminal Court (ICC) and the International Court of Justice (ICJ).

In November of last year, the ICC issued an arrest warrant for Hlaing and in February of this year, the Argentine Federal Court issued warrants against him and 24 others.

The IIMM said evidence it had proactively shared with both courts helped contribute to those investigations.

Rohingya face the worst atrocities since 2017 attacks

As well as uncovering new evidence of torture and sexual violence, the IIMM has opened a new investigation into atrocities committed against various communities in Rakhine State.

The Arakan Army, an ethnic Rakhine armed group, and the Myanmar Army have been battling for control since an unofficial ceasefire ended in November 2023.

Human rights organizations say reports indicate that both sides have committed human rights abuses.

Farmers in a small plot of land next to a camp for Rohingya communities.  Image credits: WFP/Htet Oo Linn

There are also ongoing probes into crimes committed against the Rohingya Muslim minority in 2016 and 2017.

Amnesty International says the 2017 attacks against the Rohingya amounted to crimes against humanity, while UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein described them as “a textbook example of ethnic cleansing.”

Hundreds of thousands of Rohingya were forced to flee across the border into Bangladesh after Myanmar’s military launched a widespread and systematic assault on villages in response to the Arakan Army’s attack on police posts.

The World Food Programme has warned of a worsening hunger crisis.  Image credits: WFP/Htet Oo Linn

Leading human rights groups say the Rohingya are currently facing the gravest threats since those 2107 attacks.

The World Food Programme (WFP) has also warned of a “full-blown disaster” due to the starvation in Rakhine State.

A military blockade has cut off aid and food supply to the area, with a rising number of people becoming displaced and a military ban on Rohingya being allowed to fish.

The WFP said that families are being forced to take desperate measures to survive, including rising debt, begging, dropping out of school, and even human trafficking

A mother cooks a small pack of fish to feed her six children.  Image credits: WFP/Htet Oo Linn

“People are trapped in a vicious cycle; cut off by conflict, stripped of livelihoods, and left with no humanitarian safety net,” said Michael Dunford, WFP Representative and Country Director in Myanmar.

“We are hearing heartbreaking stories of children crying from hunger and mothers skipping meals. Families are doing everything they can, but they cannot survive this alone.”