New York, Nov 17 (IANS) Human Rights Watch (HRW), a US-based advocacy group, has urged the foreign governments to reject Myanmar junta’s plans to hold elections from late December 2025 through January 2026, arguing that polls will not be free, fair, or inclusive.

The rights body alleged that since the February 2021 military coup, the junta has systematically dismantled the rule of law and the country’s nascent democratic systems, while intensifying repression and violence ahead of the polls.

“The Myanmar junta’s sham elections are a desperate bid for international legitimacy after nearly five years of brutal military repression. Governments lending any credibility to these polls would signal a complete lack of support for rights-respecting civilian democratic rule in Myanmar,” said Elaine Pearson, Asia Director at HRW.

The military junta announced that the first two phases of the multistage elections will take place on December 28 and January 11 in Myanmar.

According to the HRW, since the coup, the junta has banned dozens of political parties and jailed an estimated 30,000 political prisoners, including nearly 100 people detained under a draconian election law passed in July. Min Aung Hlaing, the junta’s leader, has acknowledged that the elections will not be held in all townships, amid the widespread fighting with opposition armed groups characterised by the military’s war crimes.

The rights body stated that the military lacks sufficient territorial control to hold credible elections, with much of the country contested or held by the opposition.

At the October summit of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called for a “credible path back to civilian rule” in Myanmar, stating, “I don’t think anybody believes that those elections will be free and fair.” Volker Turk, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, described holding the elections in December as “unfathomable”.

The HRW emphasised that while ASEAN highlighted that peace and political dialogue “must precede elections”, the regional body lacks the tools to preclude individual member states from providing technical assistance or support bilaterally.

“Malaysia, Japan, and other Asian governments that have made clear these elections are harmful to Myanmar’s people should urge their neighbours to do the same. Counterbalancing any support from China, Russia, and other countries backing the polls will require a clear, emphatic message that these illegitimate elections will only entrench Myanmar’s descent into violence, repression, and autocratic rule,” Pearson stressed.

-IANS

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