Less than two weeks after a 7.7-magnitude earthquake claimed over 3,600 lives and devastated central Myanmar, the junta has switched focus from recovery efforts to preparations for a general election in December.
On Tuesday, the junta’s Union Election Commission (UEC) reaffirmed its plan to hold the poll in December and January, calling on those wishing to set up political parties to submit their applications by May 9 to leave time for registration and campaigning.
The election body also appointed commissioner Than Soe as its vice-chair, in an unprecedented move it said was aimed at “assisting the commission chairman and facilitating the commission’s functions.”
Junta chief Min Aung Hlaing last month announced plans to hold polls in the third and fourth weeks of December and first and second weeks of January.
There were 90 political parties at the time of his 2021 coup, but 40 were disbanded after refusing to register under the junta-amended Political Parties Registration Law. Those disbanded include the National League for Democracy, whose government was ousted in the putsch, and the Shan Nationalities League for Democracy.
Fifty-three parties are currently registered with the UEC. They include the military’s proxy Union Solidarity and Development Party, the People’s Party led by former pro-democracy activist Ko Ko Gyi, People’s Pioneer Party led by former junta minister Thet Thet Khine, and the Arakan Front Party led by Dr. Aye Maung.
On Monday, the Rakhine Nationalities Party applied for registration, despite slim chances of a poll in Rakhine, where the regime has lost control of 14 of the state’s 17 townships to the ethnic Arakan Army.
The USDP is the only party that has declared its readiness for the poll. Others, including Ko Ko Gyi’s People’s Party and the People’s Pioneer Party led by Thet Thet Khine, are less active but always present at the junta’s election-related events and talks.
To hold a December vote, the regime must return power to the military-dominated National Defense and Security Council (NDSC) when the state of emergency expires at the end of July. The military-drafted 2008 Constitution stipulates voting must be held within six months of the handover.
Western democracies have joined the NUG and other regime opponents in condemning the poll plan as a sham designed to maintain the military’s grip on power.
Min Aung Hlaing has announced that electronic voting machines will be introduced “to prevent fraud” at the election. The military chief cited allegations of voting fraud to grab power and annul the 2020 general election, which both domestic international observers described as free and fair.
Min Aung Hlaing said he also plans to use a hybrid voting system combining first-past-the-post and proportional representation (PR). The first-past-the-post system, in use since 2010, will be used to elect the Lower House, while PR will be adopted for the Upper House and regional and state legislatures.
On Tuesday, the official earthquake death toll rose to 3,645. Mandalay has reported the highest fatalities at over 2,000, followed by Naypyitaw (500-plus), Sagaing Region (471) and southern Shan State (66).
In addition to earthquake devastation, regime poll preparations will be hampered by intense fighting in Kachin, Karenni, Karen, Chin, Rakhine, and northern Shan states, as well as central Myanmar. Severe quake damage in Mandalay Region, Myanmar’s second most populous area, is also likely to disrupt the election plan.
Under the 2008 Constitution, however, a parliament only requires 33 percent of lawmakers in attendance to form a quorum. Since the constitution reserves 25 percent of seats for the military, the regime only needs 8 percent of elected lawmakers to convene parliament.
