Min Aung Hlaing announces three-phases of regime election
Pro-regime media reported that Min Aung Hlaing addressed the Nationwide Ceasefire Agreement (NCA) 10th anniversary ceremony in Naypyidaw on Wednesday. He told attendees that the regime elections, scheduled to begin on Dec. 28, will have three phases. The Union Election Commission (UEC) announced last month that elections will be held in 274 out of Burma’s total 330 townships.
Min Aung Hlaing added that the first phase of regime elections will be held in 102 townships on Dec. 28. The second and third phases will be held in 2026 in the remaining 172 townships. The UEC and the next elected pro-military government will be responsible for setting a date to hold by-elections in the 56 townships where the first three phases of the regime polls were unable to be held.
Min Aung Hlaing claimed that the UEC’s electronic voting machines are “fraud-proof” after reiterating claims of voter fraud in the 2020 elections, which he used as a pretext to oust the National League for Democracy (NLD) government during the military coup on Feb. 1, 2021. The NLD was dissolved by the UEC in 2023 for not re-registering. Fifty-seven political parties will contest the 2025-26 regime elections.
Cyber scam networks sanctioned for facilitating human trafficking
The U.K. and the U.S. sanctioned a Southeast Asia-based multinational network accused of operating large-scale online “scam centres” that used trafficked workers to defraud victims around the world on Tuesday. The British government said the centres, located in Cambodia, Myanmar and across the region, used fake job adverts to lure workers who were then forced to commit online fraud under threat of torture.
This included luring victims into fake romantic relationships before persuading them to invest large sums into fraudulent cryptocurrency platforms. “The masterminds behind these horrific scam centres are ruining the lives of vulnerable people and buying up London homes to store their money,” said U.K. Foreign Minister Yvette Cooper.
The U.S. Treasury Department said that it had targeted 146 people within one criminal organization, which the U.K. also sanctioned. Britain’s sanctions targeted six entities and six individuals, including Chinese-Cambodian tycoon Chen Zhi, who the U.S. and U.K. accused of having overseen the construction of compounds used for online scams.
Myanmar armed groups dismiss NCA 10th anniversary
Six armed organizations from Myanmar called on the U.N. and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) not to attend the NCA 10th anniversary ceremony in Naypyidaw Oct 15-17. Nay Phone Latt, the National Unity Government (NUG) spokesperson, told DVB that anti-regime groups are holding their own talks to achieve “genuine peace” and to reach common ground at an undisclosed location.
Five former NCA signatories, the Karen National Union (KNU), the Chin National Front (CNF), the All Burma Students’ Democratic Front (ABSDF), the Pa-O National Liberation Organization (PNLO), and the Lahu Democratic Union (LDU), claimed that the NCA became null and void during the 2021 military coup.
The New Mon State Party (NMSP), which abides by the NCA but its splinter faction the NMSP Anti-Dictatorship, joined the anti-regime groups stating that the end of military dictatorship is the “only answer” to the country’s political crisis. Pro-regime media reported that Naypyidaw is hosting a “peace forum” in conjunction with the NCA 10th anniversary ceremony. Read more
News by Region
NAYPYIDAW—Regime media reported that Min Aung Hlaing and China’s Special Envoy Deng Xijiun met on Tuesday to discuss the NCA 10th anniversary and the elections. The regime leader invited China to send election observers to monitor Burma’s polls scheduled to begin on Dec 28.
Malaysia Foreign Minister Mohamad Hasan clarified on Oct. 13 that it is unlikely that ASEAN would send election observers to Burma after a regime media report on Oct. 10 claimed that Hasan had agreed to send observers from Malaysia to the polls after his meeting with regime officials, including Min Aung Hlaing, on Oct. 9.
YANGON—The Solidarity Trade Union of Myanmar (STUM) stated on Tuesday that prisoners at Insein Prison, including its founder Myo Myo Aye, have been ordered to cast advanced ballots in the regime elections or face penalties, including solitary confinement, if they refuse to do so.
An STUM member told DVB on the condition of anonymity that the next court date for Myo Myo Aye and the nine other STUM members is Oct. 23. The 10 have been charged with violating the Law Concerning Recidivism and the Organization Registration Law.
MANDALAY—Sources close to the regime told DVB that the police in Pyin Oo Lwin filed a charge under Section 505(A) of the Penal Code against Thet Ko Ko, also known as Thamee Soe, on Monday after her arrest at the Yangon International Airport on Oct. 12. Pyin Oo Lwin is located 40 miles (64 km) east of Mandalay.
“She criticized military officials on her social media,” the source told DVB on the condition of anonymity. A source close to Thamee Soe told DVB that another charge was filed against her under Section 66(D) of the Penal Code for defamation, which carries up to three years in prison, on Oct. 5.
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