Overview
- Voting is scheduled to start on December 28 and run into January using electronic-only machines that, according to OHCHR, do not allow blank or spoiled ballots.
- OHCHR reports the military has expanded AI and biometric surveillance, raising fears authorities could monitor whether people vote and which candidates they choose.
- Rights officials cite coercion, including forced training on e‑voting machines and orders for displaced people to return to their villages to vote, with some participants later warned by armed groups not to take part.
- Large portions of the country will not vote, with 56 townships excluded under martial law and 31 townships lacking candidates, while major parties are barred and more than 30,000 opponents remain detained, including Aung San Suu Kyi.
- UN experts urge states not to legitimize the process, with the Special Rapporteur calling the polls a “charade,” and OHCHR urging the United States to reconsider plans to end Temporary Protected Status for Myanmar nationals.