Myanmar’s military regime has made aid for internally displaced people (IDPs) in Mandalay and Sagaing conditional on signing a pledge to vote in its December-January elections, residents told The Irrawaddy. More than 1.3 million IDPs are sheltering across the two regions.
Locals in Sagaing said displaced adults were each given 60,000 kyats last week—framed as three months of refugee support—but only after signing a contract to vote.
“[Authorities] distributed the handout at gathering points in exchange for recipients’ written guarantees to cast their ballot. To receive the money, IDPs had to sign documents pledging to vote,” said a Sagaing resident.
The September 27 distribution ceremonies were held at pagoda compounds in Sagaing and were mainly attended by women. Attendees were instructed to vote without fail, and received cash aid only after they signed the required documents. Residents said the events were guarded by pro-junta Pyu Saw Htee militias, who used threats to force refugees to attend.
A displaced woman from Mingun said: “We were told arrangements were being made for us to return home soon. They told us to vote without fail, and we had to sign documents pledging to cast ballots.”
Western nations and Myanmar’s pro-democracy movement have condemned the elections as a sham aimed at cementing military rule.
The junta-controlled Union Election Commission has announced that eligible voters living outside their home constituencies must submit Form 3-C through local administrators at least 60 days before election day so that they can vote in their current constituencies.
A displaced man from Wetlet Township taking refuge in Sagaing said non-locals are being forced to fill out forms to add them to local voter rolls.
“They warned there would be consequences if we don’t vote. But we are struggling to survive, so we won’t bother.”
The junta’s election body recently released preliminary voter lists, urging people to check them so errors can be corrected before the polls.
Hundreds of people from at least 50 villages in Sagaing Township, as well as locals from Wetlet Township and western Madaya Township, are currently sheltering in Sagaing town and nearby hills after fleeing fighting.
The junta has scheduled the first phase of elections on Dec. 28 in 102 townships across the country, including Sagaing, and Aungmyaythazan and Chanayethazan in Mandalay city.
Mock ballots and training on electronic voting machines have been held in Mandalay, where aid for IDPs is being distributed alongside instructions to vote.
“This is [a junta] stronghold, so they can run the election freely,” a former political prisoner in Mandalay said. “Everyone knows the generals are desperate to cling on to power. The military is openly backing the Union Solidarity and Development Party, dispatching soldiers to shed their uniforms and run for election on its ticket. It’s no surprise that they are pressuring everyone to vote in the places that are safe to hold elections.”
Aid workers estimate that Mandalay city is sheltering around 300,000 displaced people, many fleeing fighting in northern Shan, Sagaing, Mandalay, and Kachin since late 2022. Last week, the junta’s Kachin State Chief Minister, Khet Htein Nan, visited Mandalay to distribute cash to IDPs and administrative staff from Bhamo District.
