YANGON, Aug 18, 2025 (BSS/AFP) - Myanmar's junta said Monday that long-
promised elections will start on December 28, despite a raging civil war that 
has put much of the country out of its control, and international monitors 
slating the poll as a charade.

Myanmar has been consumed by conflict since the military deposed the 
government of democratic leader Aung San Suu Kyi in 2021, making 
unsubstantiated allegations of electoral fraud.

Swathes of the country are beyond military control -- administered by a 
myriad of pro-democracy guerrillas and powerful ethnic armed organisations 
which have pledged to block polls in their enclaves.

Analysts say the election will likely see junta chief Min Aung Hlaing 
maintain his power over any new government -- either as president, military 
leader or some new office where he will consolidate control.

"I think this election is only being held to give power to military dictators 
until the world ends," said one Myanmar citizen in the western state of 
Rakhine.

"I don't think the election will hold any significance for the people," added 
the 63-year-old, declining to be named for security reasons.

Myanmar's civil war has killed thousands, left more than half the nation in 
poverty, and more than 3.5 million people living displaced.

The junta has touted elections as a way to end the conflict and offered cash 
rewards to opposition fighters willing to lay down their arms ahead of the 
vote.

"We want stability back in the country," said one displaced woman in the 
central city of Mandalay. "If the country will be made more stable and 
peaceful because of the election, we want to participate."

Suu Kyi remains jailed and many opposition lawmakers ousted by the coup are 
boycotting the polls, which a UN expert has branded a "fraud" designed to 
rebrand continuing military rule.

"These elections are not a process of ending the political crisis in Myanmar, 
but placing a fake democratic veneer over continued repressive rule," said 
independent analyst David Scott Mathieson.

"All the supposedly credible moving parts" including party registrations, 
updated election laws and constituency announcements "are all simply special 
effects in an elaborate but squalid sham", he added.

- 'Security constraints' -

Myanmar's Union Election Commission said in a statement that the first votes 
will be cast on December 28 and "dates for the subsequent phases will be 
announced later".

Conflict monitors predict the period will see an uptick in violence and 
unrest as the military seeks to expand the scope of the vote and opposition 
groups lash back.

Last month, the junta introduced new laws dictating prison sentences of up to 
10 years for critics or protesters of the election.

The legislation also outlawed damaging ballot papers and polling stations, as 
well as the intimidation or harm of voters, candidates and election workers -
- with a maximum punishment of 20 years in prison.

Min Aung Hlaing is currently ruling Myanmar as acting president, also serving 
as the chief of the armed forces which has ruled the country for most of its 
post-independence history.

Analysts predict the vote may split the factions opposing him, as they weigh 
whether to participate.

Myanmar's disparate opposition fighters initially struggled to make headway 
against the junta, before a combined offensive starting in late 2023 won a 
series of nationwide territorial victories.

In response the junta has waged a withering campaign of air strikes and 
enacted conscription, swelling its ranks with thousands of new troops and 
clawing back some key settlements in recent weeks.

A census held last year as preparation for the election estimated it failed 
to collect data from 19 million of the country's 51 million people, according 
to provisional findings.

The results cited "significant security constraints" as one reason for the 
shortfall -- giving a sign of how limited the reach of the election may be 
amid the civil war.