Opposition groups have vowed to snub poll that has been dismissed as ‘a fraud’ designed to legitimise military’s rule
Myanmar’s junta has ended the country’s state of emergency, stepping up preparations for a December election that is being boycotted by opposition groups and criticised by international monitors.
The military declared a state of emergency in February 2021 as it deposed the civilian government of Aung San Suu Kyi, triggering a many-sided civil war that has claimed thousands of lives.
The order gave the junta chief, Min Aung Hlaing, supreme power over the legislature, executive and judiciary – but he has recently touted elections as an off-ramp to the conflict.
Opposition groups including former lawmakers ousted in the coup have vowed to snub the poll, which a UN expert last month dismissed as “a fraud” designed to legitimise the military’s continuing rule.
