Refer Report
Min Aung Hlaing, Myanmar’s military commander-in-chief. AP Yonhap News
The Myanmar military will conduct a census starting next month to prepare for general elections. The date of the general election has not been announced yet, but the general assessment is that the election process and results are difficult to trust.
According to the Associated Press on the 3rd (local time), Myanmar military leader Commander-in-Chief Min Aung Hlaing said in a broadcast speech on the 1st, “Our ultimate mission is to hold a free and fair multi-party democratic election,” and “The census will be used to compile a list of voters.” Myanmar state-run media reported that the census will be conducted nationwide from the 1st to the 15th of next month.
However, Commander-in-Chief Hlaing did not specify the date of the general election.
The Myanmar military overthrew the democratically elected National League for Democracy (NLD) government in a coup in February 2021. Citing election fraud as the justification for the coup, the military declared a state of emergency. Under Myanmar’s constitution, the state of emergency can be extended for six-month periods, up to a maximum of two years, after which elections must be held within six months.
But in the meantime, the military has repeatedly broken its promise to hold general elections, extending the state of emergency in violation of the constitution, including a promise to hold them in August 2023, and most recently saying it would hold them in 2025.
Even if the military holds an election, it is generally expected to be a ‘fake election’. Pro-democracy figures, including former State Counselor Aung San Suu Kyi, have been imprisoned or are in exile overseas since the coup. In addition, armed resistance against the military has broken out across Myanmar, and the military has lost control in many places. As a result, even a population census for the general election is difficult.
The National Unity Government (NUG), the interim democratic government, expressed its wariness about the census announced that day. “If the people provide information, the terrorist organization (junta) will use it for other purposes to threaten people,” said NUG spokesman Nay Pon Lat. “The election is just a pretext, and they have no legitimacy to hold an election.”
The West, including the United States, also has a position that it cannot recognize the results of the general election conducted by the military. On the other hand, China and Russia, which are close to the Myanmar military, have expressed their intention to support the general election.
Source: Korean