Myanmar Junta Blames Rebel Groups For Election Delay

The Myanmar government has said that the delay in holding elections can be attributed to rising violence by rebel groups in the country.

Junta chief Min Aung Hlaing in a speech to soldiers on Armed Forces Day added that the delay in holding elections nationwide was due to ongoing instability. The army in 2021 overthrew the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi, whom it accused of winning the 2020 election through massive voter fraud, presenting what it said was evidence disputed by independent poll watching groups.

Hlaing stated that efforts to organise elections were underway, without specifying a timeline.

Over the past five months, Min Aung Hlaing’s army has been routed in northern Shan state, is conceding swathes of territory in Rakhine state in the west and is under growing attack in other regions.

As losses have risen and morale has plummeted, authorities activated a conscription law in a bid to strengthen their position.

In the speech the junta chief also claimed that the youth in the country were being tricked into supporting the resistance against army rule and that they were being coaxed into illegal trade like drug trafficking, natural resources smuggling and illegal gambling. Both the military and some of the ethnic minority groups with strongholds in border regions have been accused of having links to illegal activities.

Since the coup, over 4,500 people have been killed in the military’s crackdown and close to 30,000 people have been arrested by the junta. Last year, ousted civilian leader of Myanmar, Aung San Suu Kyi was moved to house arrest after being arrested after the coup.

The international community has condemned the current situation in the country with the United Nations secretary-general Antonio Guterres expressing alarm at the ongoing air strikes on villages in the country’s east. The airstrikes have targeted homes, schools, health care facilities and places of worship.

With inputs from AP