Junta Chief: Myanmar Polls May Not Be Held Nationwide

Facts

Myanmar's military junta has reportedly said the country plans to hold an election, but it may not be conducted nationwide as the regime faces a spate of armed rebellions.¹
Min Aung Hlaing, Myanmar's self-proclaimed prime minister, told the Russian state news agency Tass that authorities are verifying voter lists, adding that polls will be held 'if the state is peaceful and stable.'²
The junta chief's statement comes after the regime fired Thein Soe, the head of the Union Election Commission, in February and extended emergency rule in the country for six more months.³
Last September, the Union Solidarity and Development Party, the junta's alleged proxy, said polls may be held in 2025. Myanmar's decade-long democracy ended with the coup d'état in 2021.⁴
Hlaing claims the coup was justified by the alleged voter fraud in the 2020 elections, won by Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi's party. Since the power grab, more than 2.3M people have been reportedly displaced, while over 4.7K civilians have been killed in the country.⁵

Narrative A, as provided by Council on Foreign Relations. The Myanmar junta's plan to hold elections is unlikely to carry legitimacy, with opposition parties banned and the main opposition decimated. The military is seeking credibility amid guerrilla threats. Anti-junta forces control significant territory, causing the deadliest conflict since Ukraine, even if not as well-known worldwide. Only real elections can accommodate Myanmar's ethnic diversity.
Narrative B, as provided by NBC. The opposition rebel militia of Myanmar is making the country's military junta sweat. Significant losses, widespread displacement and casualties, and loss of morale have hurt the rulers. The turmoil is a potential turning point in the struggle for power in the Southeast Asian nation, with its diverse opposition forces uniting and hopefully determined enough this time to overthrow the junta.