In a recent interview with Russia's Tass News Agency, Myanmar junta chief Min Aung Hlaing revealed that they may not be able to hold the planned election nationwide.
In the interview held on 18 March, Min Aung Hlaing revisited the false and harmful narrative of "voter fraud," saying that the emergence of the State Administration Council (SAC) was a consequence of voter fraud and election rigging (by the NLD-led government). Responding to the interviewer's question about the accomplishments of the SAC, he indicated, "if the State is peaceful and stable, we have a plan to hold the election in relevant sections as much as we can even if the election is not held nationwide under the law." The proposed plan falls short of being an accomplishment; instead, it represents a false promise.
Since the attempted coup and the announcement of the state of emergency on 1 February 2021, the junta extended the state of emergency five times over three years, consequently postponing the proposed election along with the extension. During the same period, the junta-appointed Union Election Commission (UEC) abolished more than 40 political parties including the National League for Democracy (NLD) and Shan Nationalities League for Democracy (SNLD), an act of absolute oppression against the opposition. The said two parties won the majority of the seats in the previous 2020 election.
The current plan by the Myanmar junta to hold the "election" in "relevant sections" also indicates its lack of control over EAO-controlled areas (particularly ethnic states such as Kachin, Karen, Karenni (Kayah), Chin, Rakhine, and Shan States, and regions such as Sagaing.) It is only going to be worse for the junta, as the recent Operation 1027 has left the military battling on all fronts, finally resorting to forcefully recruiting citizens for military service. Meanwhile, the junta continues the collection of nationwide census data which is potentially being abused to gather recruits for the military service without consent. The process is masqueraded as a "crucial step necessary for the election."
The ASEAN and international community must always keep track of such developments and not fall for the "election deception" of the junta.