We, the undersigned organizations specializing in election observation, electoral and democracy assistance, committed to the Declaration of Principles for International Election Observation advocating for genuine and credible elections, unequivocally reject plans by Myanmar’s illegal military junta, the State Administrative Council (SAC), to hold a so-called ‘election’ in 2025.
Genuine democratic elections require an open competitive environment which allow Myanmar’s people to freely express their will as the foundation of legitimate governance. Myanmar’s military junta violently seized power and usurped a democratically elected government and legislature through a military coup on 1 February 2021.
In the fourth year of a continuing junta campaign of violence, forced displacement and suppression of political freedoms, Myanmar has become a site of profound and systematic human rights abuses. A genuine election in Myanmar is impossible under current conditions, which include draconian legislation banning opposition political parties, the arrest and detention of political leaders and democracy activists, severe restrictions of the media, and the organization of an unreliable census by the junta as a basis for the voter list. Under such conditions there is no possibility that an election held under Myanmar’s current conditions will be in line with international standards on democratic elections or commitments for electoral integrity. As expressed in a previous 2023 Joint Statement on Myanmar, such an exercise organized by SAC would be nothing more than an attempt to legitimize and entrench an illegal regime.
We urge the international community to continue to deny the SAC any technical, material or political support for such an illegitimate election. We reiterate our call on states and international organisations to increase their efforts to protect the results of the November 2020 election and support the restoration of Myanmar’s democracy, to implement 2022 United Nations Security Council Resolution 2669. We call on states to sanction Myanmar’s military regime, and on the international community to work with Myanmar’s democracy coalition in building the foundations to enable future genuine elections in the framework of the Federal Democracy Charter.
As democracy and electoral assistance organizations, we base our evaluations of the quality of elections on international standards of integrity, transparency, and fairness. Under Myanmar’s current conditions of violence and systemic denial of human rights, there are no technical recommendations or reforms which can redeem the SAC’s electoral charade or legitimize its ‘election’ plans by claiming a ‘minimum’ standard of democratic elections.
Myanmar’s democracy movement is convinced that a military sham election will not bring peace or stability to Myanmar. Instead, it will deepen divisions, fuel violence, entrench authoritarian rule and exacerbate the crisis caused by the military coup. We call on the global community to act decisively and support the legitimate interim government institutions of Myanmar and amplify the voices of Myanmar’s people.
Democracy and human rights in Myanmar can only be restored through sustained international pressure, solidarity with Myanmar’s people, and an unwavering commitment to justice and accountability.
View this joint statement in Myanmar.
