Hope permeated the air three years ago today when Myanmar people cast their ballots in the general election.
The majority believed they had to keep the democratization process on track to improve their lives and their country.
So they braved soaring levels of COVID-19 to join long queues at polling stations on Nov. 8, 2020.
Daw Aung San Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy (NLD) won a landslide victory for a second term in power as voters made their choice for a better future. But their hopes were shattered on February 1, 2021 when the military staged a coup, claiming electoral fraud despite international observers’ statements to the contrary.
Three years on, voters still remember the day they voted for the NLD; why they supported it, and their expectations of its second term.
They shared with The Irrawaddy how they felt humiliated by the coup, and what they thought the country today would look like if the military had not taken over.
U Win Maung, 50
A male resident of Kayan Thongwa Township, Yangon
I voted for the NLD because I thought it was the strongest democratic force. I believed that the single strongest party in power would work more effectively than a coalition government.
I felt immensely sad when the military seized power because I knew well that the country would again go through hellish days. I have endured the past three years by thinking of how we can eliminate the military dictatorship.
Local and international election monitors said the election was free and fair. Voter list errors were just an excuse used by the military to grab power.
Myanmar people enjoyed tangible benefits from economic growth between 2015 and 2020 (under the NLD government). Had the election results been honored, there could have been improvements in every sector of the country.
Daw Khin Htay, 35
A female resident of Lanmadaw Township, Yangon
I was afraid of getting COVID, but I decided to vote anyway, and I chose the NLD. I believed a civilian government led by ‘Mother Suu’ would treat the people fairly.
After witnessing certain improvements in the five years from 2015 to 2020 (during the NLD government’s first term), I was convinced things would get even better over the next five years.
I literally collapsed when I heard the military had actually staged a coup. I felt empty and doomed.
Now, many people are going hungry. The country has gone into steep decline and there is nothing good about it now.
The military wanted to dominate the whole country, so it used voter list errors as an excuse and staged a coup. It was evil of the military to do so.
Ko Wai Yan Phyo, 23
A male resident of North Dagon Township, Yangon
I cast my vote for the first time in the 2020 election. I voted for the NLD out of my love for Mother Suu, and also because I believed her party members would have the same attitude as her. I could not bear it when the military seized power and arrested civilian leaders. I was furious that they told blatant lies.
Over the past two years, I have felt mostly sadness, depression, and resentment. I had been enjoying an easy-going life, and suddenly I was thrown into hardship because of the coup. More struggle means more worries. I never thought that I would need a psychiatrist, but that is changing now.
The military takeover on the pretext of voter list errors left me speechless with rage. Anyone with common sense knows they are wrong and evil.
The country might have developed significantly by now [had the military not seized power]. We Myanmar people know how we were free and happy and how much our country had improved in 2018 and 2019 under the NLD government.
All of that ended when they seized power. It was a terrible blow just as the country was making great strides. Now, everything has collapsed. We are lagging far behind our neighbors. People are in trouble, and scholars are in distress. It is outrageous that humans are not treated as humans.
Daw Hla May, 67
A female resident of East Dagon Township, Yangon
I went to the polling station in 2020 despite COVID-19 and voted for the NLD. I believed Myanmar would enjoy further prosperity if Mother Suu’s party won again.
We were able to enjoy a peaceful life, business was good, and there were a lot of job opportunities between 2015 and 2020 under the government led by Mother Suu.
I was furious when I heard about the military coup. Voter fraud was just the empty excuse they used to seize power. The coup has impoverished people in Myanmar. There is a huge difference between the past three years (of junta rule) and life under Mother Suu’s government. The crime rate has soared.
Had the military not seized power, Myanmar would have remained peaceful and made progress with development.
People should never have been killed or lost their property. Young people outraged by the military have been forced into revolution in the forests, where they endure hardships. And we have lost vast human resources as people flee the country.
Sai Khun Mai, 30
An ethnic Pa-O resident of Taunggyi, Shan State
In the 2020 election I voted to have a better government that could improve our future. Out of the contesting parties, I thought only the NLD would care for citizens. So I cast my ballot for them.
When the coup came, I felt terrible because we voted for positive change and the military destroyed it.
Three years on, hearing news about the ongoing revolution against the regime and its victories, my hope for the future has been restored. Were it not for the coup, I believe everything in the country – including the peace process – would have made a lot of progress.
Editor’s note: Names have been changed for the safety of the people we talked to.
