On 2 December, the Quaker UN Office hosted diplomats at Quaker House for a private briefing in advance of the elections in Myanmar that began on 28 December 2025. QUNO Director, Sarah Clarke, opened the meeting, noting that “the world will be watching carefully to see how the international community responds to the vote.”
Sean Dunne, an expert who has supported election observation with the UN and the Carter Center, including in Myanmar, served as an outside briefer. In his remarks, Sean emphasized that the Myanmar general elections, which are being conducted by the military regime that overthrew the democratically elected government following elections in 2020, “fail to meet any recognized international benchmark for credibility or genuineness.” Sean concurred with UN experts, numerous Human Rights organizations, and media outlets describing the elections as a “charade” or “sham election” intended to “solicit recognition from foreign governments and legitimize the continuation of military rule, rather than reflect the genuine will of the Myanmar people.”
In Myanmar, voting kicked off on 28 December 2025, with polls being held in roughly a third of Myanmar’s townships. Despite two more voting phases scheduled on 11 and 25 January 2026, several million people, 56 townships, and numerous political parties, including the winner of Myanmar’s last credible election, the National League for Democracy, have been excluded by the military or have chosen not to participate.
As Sean explained, these exclusionary factors amount to “an incredibly sophisticated form of election engineering.” The implementation of biometric voting and surveillance technology, new laws criminalizing criticism of the election, and manipulation of representative quotas in Myanmar’s parliament are also key factors on this potential circumstance. The briefing stressed principles that comprise the critical components of elections: genuine competition, equitable technical rules, the ability of citizens to register to vote free from intimidation, as well as freedom of speech, freedom of expression, and freedom of assembly. However, Sean noted that these components “fall short if measured at this moment in Myanmar,” leaving “the military and its allies essentially guaranteed a victory.” Indeed, as the election gets underway, military officials have already claimed “commanding leads” despite no official results.
With the World Food Programme (WFP) warning that more than 12 million people in Myanmar will face acute hunger in 2026, compounded by a high risk of political violence and potential regional spillover from the election, Sean stressed that UN member states, both in the Security Council and other forums, need to carefully consider how they respond to the Myanmar military’s bid for wider acceptance. Furthermore, he emphasized that the international community’s reaction to this election will have effects beyond Myanmar, as the lack of a consistent and robust global response to the Myanmar elections could be seen as a “test-case” that emboldens military regimes elsewhere.
As the Myanmar vote unfolds, interested parties worldwide will continue to watch the remaining election phases. At the United Nations, QUNO continues efforts to provide the UN community with access to expert analysis, convene discussions, and urge UN member states to respond in ways that lay the foundation for sustainable peace. QUNO is also excited that Quakers in Asia West-Pacific are launching an interactive campaign to oppose the horrific violence of the military regime against their own people and encourage readers to get involved. For more information, please sign up for the region’s “Myanmar Matters” February month of action here.
