Source: UN News: Tuesday, January 13, 2026 00:01 AM
Tom Andrews, the UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Myanmar, has unequivocally appealed to the international community to cancel the elections being held in the country. They also called for intensifying efforts to isolate the military regime and its leaders, and to put pressure on them to immediately cancel the election process. Tom Andrews, an independent expert on human rights, said on Thursday that the results of the first round of voting on December 28 made it clear that the election was not free, fair or legitimate. Tweet URL
He said, “By all standards this is not an election, but a dramatic performance, the purpose of which is to mislead the international community.” Voter turnout was extremely low According to Tom Andrews, voter turnout in the first round of elections held on 28 December was extremely low, despite the military leadership exerting pressure on people and spreading fear of reprisals. The National League for Democracy (NLD), which had won massively in the general elections of 2015 and 2020, was not included in the ballot after it was dissolved by the military leadership. It is noteworthy that on February 1, 2021, Myanmar’s army ousted the then democratically elected government from power and hundreds of people including the President, State Counselor Aung San Suu Kyi were killed. Officials and political leaders were arrested. Since then, the country has been grappling with a humanitarian and human rights crisis, which has deepened with the passage of time. Even four years after the military coup, Myanmar is still in the grip of violent conflict, which has left millions of people displaced, food security and the economy in dire straits, homes and families destroyed in aerial bombardment and cases of people being forcibly recruited as soldiers. NLD Leader Aung San Suu Kyi has been detained since the coup, while there is still no clear information on her whereabouts and health condition. These elections are not free or credible. According to official results, the Union Solidarity and Development Party, backed by the military junta, won almost 90 percent of the seats in the lower house of parliament. Special Rapporteur Tom Andrews says that officials involved in the military regime pressured displaced people, students, government employees, prisoners and civilians to vote. Also, threats were used to stop humanitarian aid, education, migration documents and government services. He said that “the youth were forced to vote by threatening forced recruitment. This is not political participation, but open pressure.” The independent expert on human rights said that no election can be called free or credible when thousands of political prisoners are imprisoned, opposition parties are abolished, journalists are silenced and basic freedoms are suppressed. Unsplash/Pyae Sone Htun Human Rights Experts It is noteworthy that UN human rights experts and Special Rapporteurs are not employees of the United Nations, they are independent of any country or government and work in their individual capacity. They are appointed by the Geneva-based UN Human Rights Council to investigate and submit reports on specific human rights situations in a country. Special Rapporteurs and independent human rights experts do not receive any salary from the UN for their work. Strict legal action against opponents Myanmar’s national media quoted Myanmar’s national media as saying that the military leadership has imposed strict electoral laws on more than 200 people for criticizing or opposing the election. Cases have been registered under. If found guilty in these cases, there is a provision of jail sentence of up to 49 years. Special Rapporteur Andrews said that the growing evidence of forced voting is extremely worrying. The massive victory of the military-backed party is not a surprise to anyone. He said, “This election was engineered by the military regime in such a way to maintain its power and control and to create a false façade of legitimacy. At the same time, the next two phases of elections are to be held on January 11 and 25. The military regime has already decided not to hold voting in 65 municipal areas and thousands of wards and villages, which shows their lack of control over large parts of the country. While violence and repression “Continuing.” Unsplash/Zinko Hein People of various ethnic and religious backgrounds attend a prayer service in Yangon, Myanmar. The future of Myanmar lies with its people… The independent expert on human rights praised the countries that have signaled the cancellation of the elections, while also expressing concern at the few countries that sent observers to the first round of voting and legitimized the process. He said that “countries that support democracy and human rights should take a clear and principled position in favor of the people of Myanmar.” Special Rapporteur Tom Andrews stressed that Myanmar’s future belongs to its people, not to those who imprison, silence and terrorize them.
