Citizens in regime-controlled areas of Myanmar face a dilemma as the military enforces a new law punishing election boycotts with imprisonment or death, while resistance groups have established their own governance structures and will not allow regime polls to take place in territory under their control.
The U.N. Human Rights Chief Volker Türk has described the notion of Myanmar’s military regime holding free and fair elections from December 2025 to January 2026 as “unfathomable.”
“The situation in Myanmar, unfortunately, does not get enough media attention, and people have been suffering,” said Türk, the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights, during an interview with Agence France-Presse (AFP) on Monday.
Pro-democracy groups, including the National League for Democracy (NLD), which was ousted from government on Feb. 1, 2021 during the military coup, have called the regime polls a “sham.”
The National Unity Government (NUG), which is the democratic alternative to the regime, as well as Myanmar’s oldest ethnic armed group, the Karen National Union (KNU), have called on citizens to boycott the election.
Human rights expert and founder of Progressive Voice, Khin Ohmar, stated that the regime lacks territorial control over large parts of the country where resistance forces have established their own governments.
These bottom-up federal democracy frameworks are seen as an alternative to the regime in Naypyidaw.
These frameworks provide access to justice through local judiciaries and deliver services like health, education, and humanitarian aid. Civil society organizations like Progressive Voice are playing a key role in ensuring people receive necessary assistance.
Khin Ohmar added that because people in these areas have their own governments, they do not care about how the regime rules, or if it holds elections.
Regime spokesperson Zaw Min Tun told pro-regime media on Nov. 10 that the elections are an “internal affair.” He added that “no foreign influence or interference can disrupt them.”
The regime’s Union Election Commission (UEC) has scheduled polls to take place in three phases between Dec. 28, 2025, and January 2026.
Fifty-seven political parties have registered to participate. Six of these parties, which include the pro-military Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP), will contest the elections across the country.
The UEC stated that polls are scheduled to be held in 274 of Myanmar’s total 330 townships.
Civilians living in areas under the regime’s direct control, such as Myanmar’s biggest cities Yangon and Mandalay, are caught in a difficult situation. Khin Ohmar highlighted their dilemma, questioning if they have a choice but to vote despite their opposition.
The regime has introduced a new Election Protection Law, which poses a significant threat to those who do not wish to participate. Anyone found guilty of “disrupting” the elections can be sentenced to a minimum of three years in prison or even face the death penalty.
Regime media reported on Monday that 120 people have already been charged under this law. Nay Thway, a resident of the Shan State capital Taunggyi, was imprisoned for seven years on Sept. 9 for criticizing the polls.
Data for Myanmar, a research organization, has documented that at least 1,993 citizens have been arrested for criticizing the military on social media and expressing support for anti-military groups since February 2022.
Pro-democracy and civil society groups like Progressive Voice are actively delegitimizing the regime elections by calling them a “sham” and by requesting the international community to condemn them before they begin on Dec. 28.
