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Myanmar's democratic transition

The 2015 elections are seen as a crucial test of the credibility of reforms begun in 2011, when the junta stepped aside to make way for a quasi-civilian regime dominated by former generals. Democracy icon Aung San suu Kyi and her National League for Democracy (NLD) party are expected to make big gains at the polls - the first general election they have fought since they swept 1990 polls. The then-junta ignored the result. However the current constitution bars Suu Kyi from running in a presidential election, due to the foreign nationality of immediate members of her family. Since coming to power, the civilian government led by President Thein Sein has improved relations with the West while reducing its dependence on long-time backer China.

Myanmar's democratic transition

.css-1m2rp1p{color:#34b8b5;}Opinion | Myanmar’s junta staged an election. It couldn’t stage legitimacy

A closer look at the vote raises doubts about whether the generals can hold the country hostage in the long term.

Myanmar convicts charged as ‘terrorists’ by junta freed in mass amnesty

Why China’s Myanmar dilemma still persists, 5 years and 1 election later

Myanmar rebel leader Bo Nagar surrenders to junta amid resistance infighting

The Burma National Revolutionary Army leader’s surrender is a dramatic reminder of fractures within the armed resistance movement.

Thailand wants to act as ‘bridge’ for Myanmar’s return to Asean fold

Myanmar’s junta leaders have been excluded from Asean summits since the 2021 military coup that toppled a democratic administration.

Myanmar junta pledges to remove former civil servants from blacklists

After the military snatched power in a 2021 coup, tens of thousands of public workers left their posts in a surge of civil disobedience.

‘What was the point?’: Myanmar’s loaded election brings win for junta allies

Disenfranchised citizens and migrants dismiss the election as a meaningless exercise designed solely to validate the military’s iron grip.

.css-rcruog{color:#C79A00;}Video | Can Myanmar’s elections bring an end to its civil war?

International observers and bodies have slammed the elections as a sham that is neither free nor fair.

Asean urged to rethink stance as Myanmar election risks normalising junta rule

The bloc should encourage Indonesia’s approach of engaging key stakeholders in efforts to resolve the Myanmar crisis, observers say.

Myanmar’s pro-junta party wins Aung San Suu Kyi’s seat: ‘surprise no one’

The military-backed party claims to have won 90 per cent of the available seats so far in a poll activists have derided as ‘engineered’.

Myanmar’s junta proxy party takes decisive lead in first phase of voting

To mark the country’s 78 years of independence, the military is also releasing over 6,000 prisoners.

Myanmar military-backed party leads in election’s first phase by wide margin

The Union Solidarity and Development Party, led by retired generals, won 38 of 40 seats in the lower house.

‘They always lie’: pro-military party claims big lead in Myanmar’s disputed vote

The overwhelming lead claimed by the USDP in the first poll phase is met with condemnation from rights groups warning of a rigged process.

Why Myanmar’s junta election cannot hide a collapsing economy

Analysts warn that conflict, power shortages and resource extraction under military rule are pushing Myanmar’s economy further into reverse.

‘Lost my future’: Myanmar’s ‘charade’ election dims hopes of diaspora

The junta’s phased election starting on Sunday has been slammed as a ploy for its generals to stay in power.

Stay or go? Rohingya see no way out of predicament as Myanmar heads to poll

Myanmar’s phased election, set to start on Sunday, is likely to be steered by the same leaders responsible for driving the Rohingya out.

Are Myanmar hospital air strikes a bid to ‘intimidate’ voters ahead of poll?

The junta has been emboldened to strike as China, Russia and the US are looking the other way to serve their own interests, analysts say.

US lawmakers urge Trump to condemn Myanmar’s China-backed ‘sham’ elections

Call comes after government’s plan to stop legal protections for Myanmar nationals in US, citing elections as proof situation was improving.

‘Meek diplomacy’: is Asean doing enough to end the Myanmar conflict?

Asean’s individual members will decide whether to send observers to monitor what critics say will be a ‘sham election’ in Myanmar.

UN chief urges Myanmar junta to prioritise aid over holding election

Antonio Guterres has also called on all parties to support Asean’s push for an immediate end to the conflict in Myanmar.

Asean in a bind: can bloc halt Myanmar junta’s ‘sham’ election?

Pressure is mounting on Asean chair Malaysia to issue a statement that outright rejects the election and any government that emerges from it.

Bunker schools in Myanmar offer dangerous refuge for students amid air strikes

Nearly 3,400 civilians have been killed by state forces in targeted air or drone strikes since the junta staged a coup in 2021.

Will a Philippine push for ‘bolder’ action on Myanmar strain Asean ties?

The resolution aims to align more closely with Malaysia’s assertive stance, but could complicate Manila’s diplomatic agenda, analysts say.

Asean’s failure to meet Myanmar junta over election shows its ‘limited leverage’

A trip by an Asean delegation to Myanmar to discuss the country’s election plan has been postponed to October.

Myanmar junta’s ‘sham’ election plan slammed as gateway to more bloodshed

The military regime has unveiled plans for an election in December, which opponents have criticised as senseless amid the civil war.

Myanmar to hold election from December 28, junta says

With the opposition either boycotting or barred from running, the poll has been dismissed by the West as a ruse to keep the junta in power.

13 killed in Myanmar junta strike on rebel-occupied ruby mine

Myanmar is rich in precious stones and rare earth elements coveted by all factions to boost war chests.

Trump’s ‘huge diplomatic gift’ to Myanmar junta via letter sparks concerns

By addressing Myanmar’s leader Min Aung Hlaing over the tariff issue, Trump has ‘unintentionally legitimised’ the junta, analysts say.

Opinion | Myanmar’s junta staged an election. It couldn’t stage legitimacy

Video | Can Myanmar’s elections bring an end to its civil war?