Twenty-five Karen civil society groups “overseas,” led by the Karen National Union (KNU), released a statement on Monday that it has condemned the regime’s 2025-26 elections which are scheduled to begin on Dec. 28 and continue into January 2026.
“This sham election is not about political reform or genuine peace in the country. History has already shown that the Burmese military is not interested in genuine peace and democracy, they just want to consolidate their power and continue their authoritarian rule,” Zoya Phan, the program director at Burma Campaign UK, told DVB.
“For them, the election is a stepping stone towards continued military control,” she added. Burma Campaign UK is a member of the Karen Peace Support Network (KPSN), one of the 25 Karen civil society groups who signed the statement.
They claimed that the military regime, via the Myanmar Air Force, has targeted civilians in KNU-controlled territory by carrying out airstrikes and drone attacks.
Around 1.2 million people in Karen State have been displaced due to regime attacks since the military coup on Feb. 1, 2021 up to October 2025, according to the KNU.
The 25 Karen civil society groups called the regime elections a “sham” and requested the international community not recognize the results.
“This process seems nearly certain to further ingrain insecurity, fear and polarisation throughout the country,” said James Rodehaver, head of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) Myanmar team, on Nov. 29.
Pro-democracy political parties have been excluded from the regime elections. The National League for Democracy (NLD) party was dissolved by the regime’s Union Election Commission (UEC) for failing to re-register in March 2023.
“The military-controlled ballot conducted in an environment rife with threats and violence and actively suppressed political participation,” said Jeremy Laurence, the OCHR spokesperson, on Nov. 28.
The U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk warned that elections are “unfathomable” given the fact that they could never be considered free or fair by the international community since the NLD and other pro-democracy political parties have been excluded.
Türk added that these conditions will only fuel more “violence and repression” in the lead up to the polls on Dec. 28.
The Independent Investigative Mechanism for Myanmar (IIMM) stated that war crimes or crimes against humanity may be taking place against civilians in Myanmar ahead of the elections.
“I want to make it clear to all parties that targeting civilians is a violation of the laws of war,” wrote Nicholas Koumjian, the IIMM head, on Nov. 26.
He warned that attacks on anyone participating in the elections, such as political candidates and people involved in counting votes, may be considered war crimes or crimes against humanity.
Koumjian highlighted how the regime in Naypyidaw is prosecuting anyone who criticizes the elections with its new Election Protection Law, enacted on July 29.
At least 264 people have been charged under the law with 40 arrested and eight convicted and sentenced, according to DVB data.
The UEC has registered 57 political parties to contest the polls. Only six, including the pro-military Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP), will field candidates nationwide.
The USDP governed Myanmar from 2011–16 before losing in back-to-back landslide election victories to the NLD in the 2015 and 2020 elections, which were the only two considered free and fair by election observers since 1990.
The UEC stated that polls are scheduled to be held in 274 of Myanmar’s total 330 townships. The pro-democracy lawmakers’ group National Unity Government (NUG), the KNU, and the Arakan Army (AA), have called on Myanmar citizens to boycott and oppose regime elections.
“If Thailand and other neighboring countries want stability in Burma, working with ethnic revolutionary organizations and allies is their best opinion. You can see [Karen State] as an example where the KNU works to bring stability, services, and rule of law to the areas under its control,” Zoya added.
Eighteen out of the 25 Karen civil society groups stated on Oct. 30 that they strongly rejected the regime’s “sham” elections.
The Karen Women’s Organization (KWO), the Mae Tao Clinic, along with groups from Europe and the U.S., called on the international community not to recognize the regime elections and to support Myanmar’s pro-democracy movement.
