Myanmar election: first round of voting concludes - what's at stake? - Video Dailymotion

AWANI

Myanmar’s military-backed election has completed its first round in junta-controlled areas, with low turnout and wide exclusions raising questions over legitimacy, regional diplomacy, and whether the vote can ease the country’s prolonged conflict.

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00:00Myanmar's military-backed election is underway but only in areas the junta controls.

00:05The first phase wrapped up on Sunday, the first national polls since the 2021 coup.

00:11Residents say turnout was far lower than back in 2020.

00:15Two more rounds are scheduled in January next year,

00:17but nearly half the country, including rebel-held areas, cannot vote.

00:22Let's bring in Maziah Barik Miji, our correspondent, for more.

00:25Now, Maziah, we know that the voting is restricted and dissent, even criminalised.

00:31What does the military aim to achieve by pushing the election now?

00:35Thank you, Hafiz.

00:36So, it's about legitimacy and not democracy.

00:39The military is trying to create a legal and political pathway to cement its rule back at home and internationally.

00:48So, by holding an election, even a tightly controlled one,

00:52the junta can claim it is following a road map back to civilian governance.

01:00So, domestically, the vote is meant to sideline the opposition and fracture resistant groups.

01:07Internationally, it is to give the sympathetic countries something to point to,

01:12especially China and Russia, to justify engagement.

01:16But with large parts of the country excluded and dissent criminalised,

01:24this election is unlikely to ease the conflict.

01:28Well, Maziah, we know that ASEAN has pretty much put in a lot of efforts to engage with the junta.

01:35Does the bloc actually have any real leverage here?

01:37Right. So, ASEAN has very clearly made its position clear,

01:42especially on prioritising peace before elections.

01:47So, about four years on, the military has yet to show real commitment.

01:52Earlier on, I spoke to Mo Duzar,

01:55a senior fellow and coordinator of Myanmar's studies programme at ICS,

01:59on what ASEAN's role really looks like today in Myanmar.

02:07I think ASEAN's position has been made very clear,

02:11particularly in 2025, which was the year that Malaysia took the ASEAN chair.

02:18So, throughout its ASEAN chair year, Malaysia also, as the ASEAN chair,

02:24has been, I think, making a very principled stand and position that elections,

02:31you know, convening elections before achieving peace in the country is premature.

02:37And the priority is, of course, for peace over elections.

02:42ASEAN's five-point consensus,

02:44which the leaders negotiated with the senior general

02:49after the coup also emphasised cessation of violence,

02:55then mediation towards inclusive political dialogue.

03:01So, those are still very much,

03:05I think, the expectations and the aspirations that ASEAN has voiced,

03:12which, of course, require more dedicated commitment

03:17to realising it.

03:19So, again, the elections, per se,

03:21do not present a magic wand

03:23to that kind of political healing or dialogue.

03:26There needs to be a more sincere commitment

03:29to fulfilling the priorities

03:32that ASEAN has emphasised and negotiated.

03:38So, Hafiz, for now,

03:40this election looks more like a tool

03:42to legitimise the junta

03:44rather than a step towards peace.

03:46So, the challenge for Myanmar

03:48and for ASEAN

03:50is turning words into action on the ground.

03:54That's a challenge that I guess

03:56we'll be looking into coming into 2026.

03:59Thank you so much, Maziah.

04:00That was Maziah Barik Meiji,

04:02our correspondent here in Awani International.

Myanmar election: first round of voting concludes - what's at stake?

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