The Myanmar Military Council's election commission has stated that the election will be held using the PR system and that there would be no referendum on the matter.

“The election will be held using the PR system in accordance with the law. There would be no referendum,” Khin Maung Oo, a member of Union Elections Commission, said at the press conference held in Naypyitaw on 16 June. PR stands for proportional representation.   

In addition, Khin Maung Oo stated that four rounds of meetings with major political parties regarding the election were held and most agree to adopt “Closed List PR” and that the election law, bylaws and regulations had been amended in order to employ the system.

 

“PR system defines constituencies widely. And determines the number of representatives and voted after determining. Only after voting, parties and individuals can compete. It is a system of obtaining proportional seats in the parliament, depending on the number of votes cast by the rival party and the individual,” he stated.

The Myanmar junta, which grabbed power in an illegal coup in February 2021, has said they will hold a national election in August 2023.

Khin Maung Oo said the Military Council has promised that the elections will be free and fair.

There are currently 92 political parties registered with National Election Committee (NEC), 85 parties of which have been audited and eight political parties - including the National League for Democracy (NLD) - have yet to be audited.  

At this stage, the NLD would appear to be out of the running due to the situation with the audit and the fact that most of the leadership are locked up.

State Counselor Aung San Suu Kyi and many important party leaders including President Win Myint have been arrested and charged with cases that lead to long term prison sentences and their party offices have been closed.

US State Counselor Derek Chollet is skeptical of the Myanmar junta’s August 2023 election.

“I do not believe there would be a way to be free and fair. It may be simply trying to deceive the local and international communities,” Mr Chollet said at Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore on 11 June.

In addition to concerns about how free and fair such a poll would be, fighting in the ethnic states and in the Bamar heartland would hamper the execution of such an election.

Coup leader Min Aung Hlaing has been calling peace talks and engaging with some ethnic armed organizations in Naypyitaw, the aim being to reduce the fighting and help provide security for the planned election.

The Myanmar junta appears to be attempting to seek legitimacy through what would be a rigged election, given a number of key political players would not be able or willing to take part.

Many are skeptical about the promised poll.    

Khine Thuka, a spokesperson of the Arakan Army (AA) said at the press conference on 14 June that there is no interest in the election in Rakhine State and the elections held by successive Myanmar governments have not benefitted the Rakhine people.

The NLD won a landslide victory in the 2020 general elections, but the military seized control under the pretext that the victory was obtained fraudulently.

The Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP) stated that nearly 2,000 civilians had been killed and at least 14,000 arrested in the crackdown since the coup, and that at least 114 had been sentenced to death last year.

Analysts believe the Myanmar junta plans to use the election to keep their hands on the levers of power.