1/9/26, 3:09 PM Myanmar vote a ‘facade’ to entrench military rule, independent rights expert says | UN News reinforces earlier warnings any democratic credibility. from senior UN officials that the polls lack The initial phase of voting on 28 December exposed what he described as a “junta-orchestrated sham” designed to entrench military rule rather than reflect the will of the people. “By all measures, this is not a free, fair nor legitimate election,” he said. “It is a theatrical performance that has exerted enormous pressure on the people of Myanmar to participate in what has been designed to dupe the international community.” Mr. Andrews – who is not a UN staff member and does not speak on behalf of the Secretariat – urged Member States to reject the process, isolate the junta and press its leaders to cancel the remaining two phases of voting. “The international community should make clear that Myanmar’s future belongs to its people,” Mr. Andrews added, “not to those who imprison, silence and terrorise them.” Myanmar’s military authorities planned the staged voting process nearly five years after they seized power in a February 2021 coup . Since then, the country has descended into widespread armed conflict pitting the ruling military against numerous ethnic armed groups, triggering mass displacement, economic collapse and deepening humanitarian needs, further compounded by devastating earthquakes in March 2025. Two further rounds are scheduled for 11 and 25 January, although the junta has already ruled out holding polls in at least 65 townships and thousands of wards and village tracts, underscoring its lack of control over large parts of the country. Very low turnout reported According to reports cited by the independent expert in a press release voter turnout in the first round was very low despite threats and intimidation. , The National League for Democracy, which won sweeping victories in the 2015 and 2020 elections, was barred from participating after being dissolved by the military. Its leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, has been detained https://news.un.org/en/story/2026/01/1166729 2/8