Myanmar Military Junta Plans to Prosecute Hundreds of People for "Interfering" with Election

2020 Myanmar Election voting in Yangon. (Wikimedia Commons/Paingpeace)

JAKARTA - Myanmar's military junta said on Wednesday it was seeking to prosecute more than 200 people for "obstructing" the upcoming elections it is holding, using a new law that rights monitors say is aimed at clamping down on dissent.

The Myanmar military junta introduced legislation in July to protect the election from "obstruction, interference, and destruction", with clauses banning criticism or protests against the election, and outlining severe punishments.

"A total of 229 people" are being sought for prosecution under the law "for attempting to sabotage the election process," junta Home Minister Tun Tun Naung said Wednesday, according to state media, citing AFP (17/12).

Several of the cases involve fugitive activists and rebels operating outside the junta's reach, making it unlikely that all of the suspects are currently in custody.

The junta has touted the phased elections, which began on December 28, as a step towards reconciliation in Myanmar, which has been wracked by civil war since the military seized power in a 2021 coup.

Meanwhile, opposition factions will block elections in areas of the country they control. On the other hand, leading international observers have rejected the elections as an excuse to continue the military government.

Sentences under the July law in Myanmar's opaque courts can result in prison terms of up to a decade, and authorities have made arrests for simply posting a "heart" emoji on a Facebook post critical of the election.

The law also prohibits the destruction of ballot papers and polling stations, as well as intimidating or injuring voters, candidates, and election officials, with a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison.

Previously, the UN human rights watchdog for Myanmar, Tom Andrews, called the election "fake" by citing restrictions on freedom of speech as one of many obstacles to free and fair elections.

The military government last week announced it was seeking to arrest 10 activists who staged anti-coup demonstrations, throwing political pamphlets into the air in Mandalay City.

A man was jailed in September for seven years with hard labour for a Facebook post questioning the election, while three artists were arrested the following month for allegedly vandalising the election.

The three men - a director, an actor, and a comedian - were detained "for making false and misleading criticism on social media" against other artists who produced pro-election films, state media said.

Meanwhile, at least one person has been charged for "swearing, threatening, and beating" an election organizer.

Those jailed under the law will join more than 22,000 people jailed by the junta on political grounds, according to the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners.

Among them is Aung San Suu Kyi, a democracy figure who won the Nobel Peace Prize and was ousted in 2021.

His party won the last election by a landslide victory that was later annulled by the military, which made unfounded accusations of electoral fraud and then dissolved his party.

While trying to suppress dissent to the election in its territory, the junta has also launched attacks to seize more territory before the gradual voting begins.

It is known that the results of the elections held in Myanmar are expected to be known around the end of January 2026.