By – K.Z. Lu
Myanmar has been under a state of emergency since February 2021, when legitimately voted leaders such as President U Win Myint and State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi were ousted by the junta led by Sen Gen Min Aung Hlaing. The National League for Democracy party achieved a landslide victory in the 2020 general elections the preceding year, with the military demanding the result was dishonest.
Min Aung Hlaing called on the international community and the citizens of Myanmar to back “the genuine discipline-flourishing multiparty democratic system” in military-ruled country.
Supporters of captive leader Daw Aung San Suu Kyi or the Lady claim she is imprisoned by the military junta to block her from taking part in new elections. The Lady, daughter of Burma’s independence leader Aung San, played a vital role in the country’s democratic transition since the 1988 uprising and challenged the military’s firm grasp over politics.
Following the February 2021 coup, the military-run country has been sanctioned by the US, UK, EU and other Western authorities for trampling on democracy in the southeast Asian nation. Western countries have also condemned the regime run by Min Aung Hlaing for waging a crackdown on protests against the contemporary oppression.
Myanmar’s military leader has been disallowed by most Western countries since it overthrew an elected government led by Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi in 2021. However, the neo-imperialists countries China and Russia have sustained close economic and military ties, and both have guaranteed support for a false election that the beleaguered junta will be bolstering with its expectant legitimacy.
China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs Envoy Deng Xijun and Senior Gen. Min Aung Hlaing met in the Myanmar capital Naypyidaw on 11 March this year and discussed the junta’s gaming plan for the future, what it calls its “five-point roadmap”, and “preparation to hold an election”, the junta’s Ministry of Information said in a statement as says by the RFA (Burmese).
China has wide-ranging economic interests in Myanmar, including oiland gas pipelines from the Indian Ocean and rare earth digging projects, and it is hoping that a name-sake election will be helpful to end the civil war that set off in Myanmar after the military’s 2021 coup.
The military junta also seems eager by means of a mock election will ease international pressures and sanctions and reinforce its legitimacy by showing a commitment to a democratic process. Despite widespread skepticism about the free and fairness of a vote under military regime, Min Aung Hlaing thinks election as an outlet from being beleaguered, according to some analysts.
On March 7, while on a visit to Russia and Belarus, Min Aung Hlaing publicized that the elections would be held by January next year. According to some political analysts, China has been secretly providing Myanmar with an electronic voting system and other support for the polls, which would be a substantial support.
Recently, the Myanmar Electronic Voting Machine (MEVM) will be used for the first time in Myanmar during this year’s general election, according to a press conference held on 4 July and jointly organized by the Union Election Commission and the Myanmar Press Council.
More than 50,000 MEVMs will be produced and distributed for use. The machine has been tested hundreds of thousands of times for flaws, and none have been found so far,” U Nyi Nyi Lwin, Deputy Director-General of the Union Election Commission, told the media.
In addition, he explained, “At the voting booth, the voter must select their preferred option when the green light above the voting machine button turns on, and then press the button to cast their vote. The voter can also review the ballot paper on the monitor to confirm whether it reflects their choice. The MEVM will generate the voter list shortly after the polling stations close, eliminating the need to wait for hours. This MEVM can be easily used not only in the general election, but also in referendums and other elections for Union-level organizations.”
On the other hand, anti-regime groups in various regions in Myanmar have prohibited the junta’s planned election, warning they will take military action against those who take part in those fake elections.
The junta-selected Union Election Commission told the media that balloting would be held in 267 townships across the country, assuming security can be safeguarded, in December or January. Yet, the civilian National Unity Government(NUG) said around 144 out of the country’s 330 townships are controlled by anti-regime groups and 79 townships report continuing conflict.
According to Mizzima News, as of 7 June, the UEC convened a coordination meeting at its office in Naypyidaw to discuss updates to household registration lists and voter records. UEC Chairman U Ko Ko stressed that compiling an accurate and complete voter list remains a priority, with data sourced from immigration records and ground-level household surveys.
Critics, however, argue that the entire electoral process is a facade to reinforce military control under the guise of democratic transition. The inclusion of both First Past the Post (FPTP) and Proportional Representation (PR) systems in the upcoming election has raised concerns about possible gerrymandering and dilution of opposition votes.
Justice For Myanmar and other watchdog groups have repeatedly warned that the planned election is a political tool to entrench military rule, not a genuine attempt to restore democracy. They call for the international community to reject the process outright.
While Myanmar’s military regime prepares to hold challenging elections, China has silently accelerated its clandestinely organized diplomacy of reinforcing bonds with regime’s under-controlled political parties and institutions.
China sees Myanmar’s imminent election as a political conversion or a policy to handover power from one military ruling to a disguise of civilian rule. It is a ploy made by Beijing top brasses supporting Min Aung Hlaing and reassuring regional countries to agree the election outcomes, even if they represent a superficial or theatrical transformation.
Since 2023, Chinese bureaucrats under the guidance of Beijing have held numerous meetings with Myanmar UEC Members. These consultations involved China’s eagerness about the status of political parties, the development of voter list preparation, and the progress of key election laws and regulations. At the same time, Beijing pressures the regime to hold the election at any rate. This echoes China’s dynamic participation and encouragement creating or pre-arranged Myanmar’s electoral process.
Meanwhile, Myanmar’s junta chief, Senior General Min Aung Hlaing, seems to consider he has the sponsorship of both China and Russia, and has devotedly promoted relationships with both powers to sustain his illegal administration since the 2021 February coup.
China continues as a key economic and political partner for the Myanmar régime. Beijing has arranged humanitarian aid, diplomatic engagement, and arms sales, while also shielding Myanmar from stronger international condemnation at the UN Security Council. President Xi Jinping met with Min Aung Hlaing in Moscow in May 2025, promising backing for reconstruction and peace efforts following Myanmar’s devastating March 28 Sagaing earthquake.
Russia has also become noticeable as a more powerful benefactor of the junta. Min Aung Hlaing has visited Moscow multiple times, including a high-profile meeting with President Vladimir Putin in March 2025, where the two signed agreements on nuclear energy, trade, and military cooperation. Russia supplies sophisticated weaponry and technical support, helping the junta maintain its air-force amid internal conflict. Moreover, Russia has defended Myanmar diplomatically, using its UN Security Council position to block punitive measures.
In such a time, ASEAN should recognize that the current chaos taking place in Myanmar is not a civil war, but a revolution launched by the new Generation-Z. The young generations are fed up with the way of life controlled by the military despotism since 1962. So, the young generations are endeavoring to eradicate unlawful military rulings in any event. Majority of people in Myanmar have been fighting the military-autocracy for several decades for want of democratic system.
China as well as ASEAN should recognize the fundamental demands of the Myanmar People including ethnicities – no military presence in the politics except defense responsibilities. Consequently, there may not be peace talks for the sake of the military’s returns. The military must resign from the field of party politics. People are bored of military totalitarianism. That’s why people seriously resist Chinese interventions by supporting Min Aung Hlaing’s bogus elections groundwork.
ASEAN should stay away from China’s argumentative policy on Myanmar concerning a false election incomng December-January. It will cause more bloodshed in the poverty-stricken country. Myanmar populations do not hate the ordinary Chinese populations, instead of Chinese Communist regime’s neo-imperialism with aggressive policy.
-Down with the Chinese Imperialism! Long Live with the Spring Revolution of Myanmar!