Regime in Naypyidaw confirms December elections
Regime leader Min Aung Hlaing formed the “National Security and Peace Commission” after lifting the state of emergency on Thursday, regime media reported. The military general appointed himself as chairperson of the commission in order “to oversee the general elections this December,” which he confirmed during a ceremony in Naypyidaw on Wednesday.
He added that there were “difficulties” over the past four years since the 2021 military coup, but that now his regime is starting a “second chapter.” Min Aung Hlaing accused the National League for Democracy (NLD) government of electoral fraud during the 2020 elections, and jailed State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi and President Win Myint in the coup on Feb. 1, 2021. The NLD won a landslide victory in 2020.
The 2008 Constitution states that once the emergency is over, the commander-in-chief must hand back power to the National Defence and Security Council (NDSC), which is chaired by the president. Min Aung Hlaing assumed the duties of acting President after Myint Swe was placed on medical leave in July 2024. The NDSC is then required to hold a general election within the next six months.
Attempts to ban National League for Democracy party
Political party members told DVB that the regime’s amendment of the Political Parties Registration Law on Monday is an “attempt to prohibit the use of the NLD name forever.” Min Aung Hlaing added a new clause to the law, stating that if the Union Election Commission (UEC) finds that a political party has committed electoral fraud, or unlawful conduct, it can be banned outright.
Thein Kyi, the chairperson of the National Political Alliance League Party, told DVB that the new clause effectively bars the NLD from registering again under the same name. The NLD was dissolved as it did not re-register with the UEC for the regime-planned elections. Former NLD lawmaker Sandar Min told DVB that efforts to re-register the party with the UEC failed because the leadership was “silent.”
Nearly 150 NLD lawmakers, elected in 2020, and another 2,500 NLD members have been reportedly arrested since the 2021 coup. Kyaw Htway, an NLD central executive member, told DVB that he is not surprised by the amendment as the regime has “deliberately tried to destroy” the NLD over the last four years. A total of 55 parties have registered with the UEC to field candidates for the upcoming polls.
Ten more Rohingya pushed by India into Bangladesh
Bangladesh has accused the Indian Border Security Force of pushing 10 more Rohingya across the border from northeastern India into Bangladesh’s Sylhet Division, located 155 miles (251 km) northeast of the capital Dhaka on Monday. This brings the number of Rohingya forced into Bangladesh by India to at least 169, including 50 who are registered with the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in Delhi.
“The number of push-ins has decreased recently. While we are taking back our citizens, [we’re] not accepting Rohingyas,” Jahangir Alam Chowdhury, the Bangladesh Home Affairs Adviser, told reporters at a press conference in Dhaka on July 26. “But they are leaving people in forests and by rivers, which is unacceptable. We are protesting this, and it’s having some effect,” he added.
Bangladesh has asked India to repatriate Bangladeshis through proper channels, as Dhaka does when repatriating Indian nationals. The total number of people, including Rohingya and Indian nationals, pushed into Bangladesh from Indian Border Security Force personnel has increased to 1,975 since May 7, according to the Bangladesh Home Affairs Ministry.
News by Region
ARAKAN—The Arakan Rohingya National Council (ARNC) demanded the release of nearly 60 Rohingya farmers reportedly arrested by the Arakan Army (AA) in Buthidaung Township’s Sein Hnyin Pyar and Tha Peik Taung villages on July 25.
“Entire Rohingya communities are being driven to destitution and despair under the [AA],” an unnamed ARNC spokesperson was quoted as saying in its July 31 press release. The current conditions and whereabouts of the 60 Rohingya are unknown.
Aid workers said that thousands of residents in Kyauktaw, Mrauk-U, Minbya, Thandwe, and Taungup townships have been evacuated from their homes due to flooding and taken to temporary shelters since July 27. They are now in desperate need of assistance.
“If the water level increases, it’s hard to survive. People may get diarrhea and fever if the drinking water is not clean when the water level falls,” an aid worker told Narinjara News. At least 20 villages were affected by flooding of the Laymyo and the Pan Myaung Gyi rivers.
KARENNI—Residents of Nanmekhon town told DVB that at least 10,000 residents have been evacuated to Demoso town due to the impending regime counteroffensive. Regime forces reportedly reached Payarni village, 13 miles (20 km) north of Nanmekhon, on July 25.
A frontline source in Nanmekhon told DVB that while clashes between regime and resistance forces were infrequent, air and artillery strikes occurred almost daily. Nanmekhon is located seven miles (11 km) north of Demoso and nine miles (14 km) west of the state capital Loikaw.
SAGAING—Residents of Kanbalu Township told DVB that at least five civilians were killed by airstrikes at a hospital run by the National Unity Government (NUG) on Tuesday. Kanbalu is located 104 miles (167 km) north of the region’s capital Monywa.
“The regime deliberately targeted the NUG-run facilities,” a People’s Defence Force (PDF) member told DVB on the condition of anonymity. On April 11, 2023, 168 civilians were killed by airstrikes during an NUG ceremony in Kanbalu’s Pazigyi village.
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