Myanmar to hold second phase of election in January

Myanmar's military government will hold the second phase of its multi-stage election on January 11, state media said on Wednesday, a vote dismissed as a sham by Western countries, the United Nations and human rights groups.

Myanmar has been in political turmoil since the military seized power in a 2021 coup, ousting a civilian government led by Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi and sparking a nationwide armed resistance.

Dozens of pro-democracy parties have either been banned or are refusing to take part in the elections, which junta leader Min Aung Hlaing has admitted will not be held nationwide.

The second phase will be held two weeks after the first phase on December 28, and cover 100 townships nationwide, including several in Yangon, Myanmar's commercial capital and largest city.

"I don't think anybody believes that those elections will be free and fair," UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said on Monday, on the sidelines of the regional ASEAN summit.

The 11-member bloc of Southeast Asian nations acknowledged at its annual gathering that it cannot stop the upcoming general election in Myanmar but its foreign ministers want the contest to be fair and inclusive.

The junta has since faced widespread opposition from established ethnic armies and newly formed armed groups, which have wrested away large tracts of territory from the well-armed military.

The junta was able to conduct a full, on-the-ground census to generate voter lists in only 145 of the country's 330 townships, according to a December census report that put Myanmar's total population at 51.3 million.

Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy and 39 other parties were dissolved by the junta-appointed election commission two years ago for failure to register for the election.