Myanmar military controlled ballot exacerbates violence and social division

“After the military grabbed power from the democratically elected government, Myanmar has lost half a decade of peace and development. The profound and widespread despair inflicted on the people of Myanmar has only deepened with the recent election staged by the military,” Laurence said.

“Many people chose either to vote or not to vote purely out of fear, flatly at odds with their internationally guaranteed civil and political rights, and with ripple effects on their enjoyment of economic, social and cultural rights. The conflict and insecurity continued unabated in large parts of the country, and opposition candidates and some ethnic groups were excluded,” he said.

“Elections were held in only 263 of 330 townships, often exclusively in urban centers under military control, and limited in conflict areas and hence excluding large segments of the population, especially displaced and minorities, such as the Rohingya,“ Laurence stated.

“Credible sources verified that 170 civilians were killed in some 408 military aerial attacks reported by open sources during voting between December 2025 and January of this year,” he said.

To curb any dissent the military arrested 324 men and 80 women under its unilaterally adopted election protection law, including for minor online activity, with grossly disproportionate penalties such as a 49-year sentence for posting anti-election materials.

Voter coercion was reported nationwide. In an emblematic incident on 6 January 2026 over 100 villagers in Sagaing region were arbitrarily detained and compelled to cast advance ballots. They were released the following day. Others reported voting under the fear of forced conscription, losing access to food, or administrative consequences like denial of border passes, passport renewal or university registration. While some reported being threatened by armed groups if they voted.

“For five years now, the military’s rule has been characterized by repression of political dissent, mass arbitrary arrests, arbitrary conscription, widespread surveillance and limitation of civic space. Now, the military is seeking to entrench its rule-by-violence after forcing people to the ballot box. This couldn’t be further from civilian rule,” the spokesperson stated.

“The Myanmar military created the human rights atmosphere in the country today. As I have briefed you all many times, it is an environment of fear, oppression, violence and despair. Civilians do not feel safe and they increasingly do not see hope for their futures if the military is able to declare victory or that their coup has succeeded,” Rodehaver added.

“These elections did not prevent violence from continuing throughout 2025. Last year was the deadliest year since the coup for children. It was also the year in which more civilians died from airstrikes than any other since 2021. Airstrikes continued even through election days, even in townships where voting was going on. Detentions and other forms of repression were also rife,” Rodehaver said.

“As the military seeks legitimacy, we think it is important not just to look at these elections, but at the five-year track record they have established. It tells you all you need to know,” he said.

For more information and media requests, please contact

In Geneva:

Ravina Shamdasani: +41 22 917 9169 / ravina.shamdasani@un.org

Jeremy Laurence: +41 22 917 9383 / jeremy.laurence@un.org

James Rodehaver / james.rodehaver@un.org

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