Bombs to Ballots: Myanmar Junta’s Bloody Race for Recognition Exposing the junta’s campaign of terror to stage a sham election
1 October 2025
On 18 August 2025, the military junta announced it would end its ‘state of emergency,’ and then declared plans to hold an election on 28 December 2025.1 Over the past four and a half years, the regime has carried out a violent campaign of fear, threatening and undermining civilian rights and freedoms through a barrage of terror tactics. The election, declared a sham by civil society organizations and human rights monitoring groups, lacks credibility. The election plans pose life-threatening risks to civilians as the junta aggressively tries to regain lost territories through airstrikes, drones, and mortar shelling.
On 1 February 2021, the military carried out a failed coup. Their disregard for electoral processes considered fair and democratic has become increasingly evident as they deny claims of their stolen rule, asserting electoral fraud in the November 2020 election, despite no evidence of such.2 The decline of human rights swiftly followed, and another hijacked voting period is set to bring even more chaos and crisis to a civilian population that has already endured immense strain. The senseless violence that has occurred includes brutal attacks on peaceful protesters as well as deaths of political prisoners arbitrarily detained, and dozens of airstrikes, artillery and mortar shelling, in addition to the torture of those detained in military custody. Long-standing tactics by the military junta, including the 4-cuts strategy, involve the regime attempting to target every community by cutting off access to food, funds, recruits, and supplies. Those most affected include the most vulnerable, who are struggling to survive due to the daily brutality inflicted on their lives. The increase in violence and surge in attacks occur as politicians are targeted, and members of the opposition and those subject to conscription could face more arrests. Civil society organizations penned an open letter to the United Nations General Assembly in September 2025, urging them to denounce the junta’s sham election, for among other reasons, rising concerns over the foreshadowing of further violence.3
The regime has turned to countries, notably those under authoritarian rule, including China and Russia, for their influence and support of the contested election.4 In addition, the junta, in its desperation, has hired lobbying firms to bolster ties with the United States and to garner support.5 However, the people of Burma strongly oppose any form of voting process under the direction and supervision of the junta, given the immense strife and struggle they are facing. It exists solely as a political manoeuvre for the military to legitimize itself and is another extension of their overreach into the country’s affairs. In their ongoing power grab, innocent civilians stand to lose the most.
Approximately 144 out of the country’s 330 townships are controlled by the armed opposition, and 79 have reported ongoing conflict.6 The junta has also forced twenty military-backed Generals to run as candidates for the pro-military Union Solidarity and Development Party.7 Amid worsening funding cuts by the US government and other long-term donors ending life-saving assistance, the framework for rights protection remains extremely fragile and strained. The challenges that have arisen over the past year have made the situation on the ground even more difficult for local responders to manage, ensuring the needs of conflict-affected communities are met. For those suffering in the aftermath of worsening attacks, the need for survival is a constant that has surpassed any interest in a vote where their voice will not be counted.
Furthermore, the junta’s efforts to silence and weaken the various resistance movements have been unsuccessful. Despite constant threats and rising violence by the military, the coordinated attempt to speak truth to power has largely prevented them
from succeeding and from gaining the recognition and legitimacy they desperately seek. Their election is the latest in their bid for international credibility. Despite the devious pathways the military is pursuing, it is irrefutable that this election lacks a legal basis and therefore must be condemned and rejected by all regional and international stakeholders.
The future of Burma’s politics and federal democracy is at risk. Preventable deaths will keep darkening the military’s brutal legacy, and a sham election—where they plan to block all meaningful avenues for opposition parties violently—is guaranteed. Election monitors must heed the warnings of civil society organizations, which note that even darker days are ahead should the election take place.
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