Protests continued over the past week across the towns and cities in Myanmar despite the strong crackdown by the military and the police. The people of Myanmar protested using innovative ways, such as “garbage strikes”, “flower strikes” and “Easter egg strikes” throughout the week. Due to the air strikes in the Kayin
Described as a “fight to death” between a kobra and a mongoose, the struggle to topple the military junta and restore democracy in Myanmar have been relentless as people from different walks of life stage peaceful protest actions around the country. The military junta, however, has responded to the peaceful protests with
As the Tatmadaw marked the Myanmar Armed Forces Day on March 27, at least 114 people were killed by the military junta, the bloodiest day so far since the military coup on February 1. The mass killings came a day after the military junta warned the protesters that they will face the
In the past week, the military junta shut down mobile internet and wireless broadband internet (except for fibre internet) indefinitely. Crackdowns against the media were also intensified, with three journalists arrested in a week. Since the military’s Feb. 1 coup, a total of 40 journalists have been arrested by the junta, with
The Myanmar military staged a coup on 1 February 2021 grabbing power from the civilian government which undermined a democratic process that happened just months prior. The people of Myanmar strongly opposed the coup and have since been going out in the streets to peacefully protest and demand the restoration of democracy
As the people of Myanmar continue the civil disobedience movement including nationwide street protests, the total number of deaths has doubled to at least 126 in the past week. The anti-coup protests saw another record-breaking surge in deaths on 14 March alone when at least 38 civilians were killed by security forces.
First published on the website of People's Solidarity for Participatory Democracy on 9 March 2021. "Everything will be okay.” The phrase on the T-shirt of 19-year-old Kyal Sin, who was killed by a shot to the head on the streets of Mandalay as she joined anti-coup protests in Myanmar rings in our
The people of Myanmar continue the civil disobedience movement, which include street protests, civil service strikes, the boycott of military-linked business, and the social punishment campaign which netizens name and shame police, military personnel and their family members on social media and business owners refused to provide service to them. Myanmar saw
The 2021 Myanmar military coup began on 1 February 2021 when the Myanmar military, Tatmadaw detained numerous government officials, including State Counsellor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, President U Win Myint, and Union Election Commission (UEC) Chair U Hla Thein, as well as pro-democracy activists and politicians from the ruling National League
We, the undersigned organizations, call on the United Nations Security Council and UN member states to urgently institute a coordinated, global arms embargo on Myanmar in response to the February 1, 2021 military coup that has deprived the people of Myanmar of the right to democratically elect their government. Our concerns are
First published on MARUAH's website on February 11, 2021 MARUAH unequivocally condemns the military takeover of Myanmar on February 1, 2021. The Tatmadaw (military)overthrew the elected government of Myanmar, detained government leaders, civil service officers, activists, and human rights defenders, imposed a year-long Emergency on the country and has blocked intermittently access
On 1 February, the armed forces of Myanmar (Tatmadaw), ostensibly acting on allegations of voter fraud in the general elections of 8 November 2020, detained numerous government officials, including State Counsellor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, President U Win Myint, and Union Election Commission (UEC) Chair U Hla Thein, as well as
Joint Statement by Domestic Election Observer Organizations January 29, 2021 There is a growing concern within the public that the electoral disputes over the results of the 2020 general elections and different electoral processes would cause post-election instability, the delay of the peaceful power transition, and even the country’s democratic transition to
Several domestic election observer groups, during a webinar that ANFREL hosted, urged the Union Election Commission (UEC) to provide more opportunities for election stakeholders to participate in the electoral process in Myanmar. ANFREL hosted a webinar about post-election findings of election observer groups in Myanmar on 25 January 2021. The ANFREL Webinar
The Asian Network for Free Elections (ANFREL) is hosting a webinar on 25 January 2021, Monday, at 4 p.m. (Yangon time) about the post-election observation findings of election observer groups in Myanmar. This is part of a series of webinars which aims to create public awareness on democratic elections and create a
ANFREL member in Myanmar, the People's Action for Credible Elections (PACE) released two pre-election studies on migrant workers' perception of the 2020 Myanmar General Elections. The elections were held on 8 November 2020 amid the COVID-19 pandemic. PACE, with the Foundation for Education Development, conducted a survey with migrant workers from Feb.
Several election observer groups during a webinar ANFREL hosted on 21 December 2020 said that while there have been observed changes in the electoral process, more reforms and improvements are still needed to sustain electoral democracy in Myanmar. The Asian Network for Free Elections (ANFREL) invited People's Alliance for Credible Election (PACE)
The Asian Network for Free Elections (ANFREL) is hosting a webinar on 21 December 2020, Monday at 4 p.m. (Yangon Time) about the findings of election observer groups in the recently concluded 2020 Myanmar General Elections. This is part of a series of webinars which aims to create public awareness on democratic
While the Election Day in Myanmar has been observed to be generally peaceful, a panel of local election observer groups agreed that certain measures need to be taken to improve the electoral process in the country. ANFREL invited New Myanmar Foundation (NMF) executive director Mya Nandar Thin, Phan Tee Eain – Creative
The Asian Network for Free Elections (ANFREL) is hosting a webinar on 1 December 2020, Tuesday at 4 p.m. (Yangon Time) about the findings of election observer groups in the recently concluded 2020 Myanmar General Elections. This is part of a series of webinars which aims to create public awareness on democratic
ANFREL wishes to congratulate the people of Myanmar, the Union Election Commission, and the hundreds of thousands of polling staff who made this electoral process a success despite difficult conditions. We further congratulate all election stakeholders, and in particular civil society organisations and the international community, for contributing to a vibrant election
First published on PACE's website on 9 November 2020. The People's Alliance for Credible Elections (PACE) said the election process in Myanmar was peaceful with no major incidents recorded. This is what PACE said in the preliminary findings of their observation of the 2020 Myanmar General Elections. PACE acknowledged the efforts of
ANFREL member in Myanmar, People's Alliance for Credible Elections (PACE), released the initial findings of their observation of the opening of polls in the 2020 Myanmar General Elections on 8 November 2020. PACE said they received isolated reports of observers not allowed to enter polling stations initially but was later resolved except
Press Release Yangon, Myanmar 8 November 2020 As Myanmar, a country still in democratic transition, is set to hold its general elections on 8 November 2020, around 37 million registered voters are encouraged to stay the course and exercise their right to vote. The Asian Network for Free Elections (ANFREL) calls on
First published on PACE's website on 1 November 2020. The COVID-19 pandemic has hugely affected the campaign period in Myanmar, according to the preliminary report of the election observation of the People's Alliance for Credible Elections - PACE. In Yangon and Rakhine where the stay-at-home order was enforced in the entire region
Press Release Yangon, Myanmar 29 October 2020 The Asian Network for Free Elections (ANFREL) formally launched its international election observation mission to the 2020 Myanmar General Elections with the deployment of 13 long-term observers (LTOs) on 26 October 2020. As the country is set to hold its general elections on 8 November
Domestic election observation groups said during ANFREL’s webinar that they face several challenges in observing the Myanmar polls that are being conducted amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Among the challenges are delays in the accreditation process of observers, difficulties in training and deploying observers, and uncertainties in the election process. Authorities have imposed
The Asian Network for Free Elections is organizing a webinar on election observation during the COVID-19 pandemic in Myanmar on Monday, 19 October 2020, at 4 p.m. (Yangon Time).* With the continuous rise in confirmed COVID-19 cases in Myanmar, authorities have imposed restrictions to curb the further spread of the virus. Several
The level of interest in politics is on a downward trend since 2015, according to a pre-election survey the People's Alliance for Credible Elections (PACE) conducted. The survey was conducted between August 3 to 5, 2020 with a total of 2,577 interviews across the country. PACE noted that they were not able
Elections during the COVID-19 pandemic can succeed when election stakeholders cooperate among each other, said panelists of the ANFREL webinar on COVID-19 and the 2020 General Elections in Myanmar. Mr. Kyaw Htin of the New Myanmar Foundation said stakeholders need to cooperate among each other and share information. He said transparency on
