This week started with another four-year sentence by the special junta court in Naypyitaw to Myanmar's ousted leader Aung San Suu Kyi on Monday. The sentence includes two years of imprisonment for the illegal import of walkie talkies under the export-import law, one year for the possession of the devices under the
The following is the December issue of ANFREL's Monthly Brief on Countries under Restrictive Environment to provide an update on democracy and election-related issues in selected countries and territories under a restrictive environment. Download here: Monthly Brief on Countries under Restrictive Environment - Series #9: Bangladesh, Cambodia, Malaysia, Myanmar & Hong Kong
The Asian Network for Free Elections (ANFREL) is commemorating 25 years of advancing electoral democracy in Asia in 2022. In the last quarter of 2021, ANFREL organized the Asian Electoral Stakeholder Forum 5 where participants adopted the “AESF 5 Memorandum: The Way Forward for Elections Beyond the COVID-19 Pandemic.” ANFREL also observed
The junta’s special court sentenced on 06 December, 2021 ousted Myanmar leader Aung San Suu Kyi and president U Win Myint to four years in prison for incitement against the military under section 505b of the Penal Code and section 25 of the Natural Disaster Management Law for breaching COVID-19 rules. Hours
The court in Naypyitaw has delayed the first verdicts in the trial of ousted leader Aung San Suu Kyi until 6 December, the verdict expected to rule on 30 November. She faces two years in prison for the incitement charge for statements released by the National League of Democracy (NLD) when she
The following is the November issue of ANFREL's Monthly Brief on Countries under Restrictive Environment to provide an update on democracy and election-related issues in selected countries and territories under a restrictive environment. Download here: Monthly Brief on Countries under Restrictive Environment - Series #8: Bangladesh, Cambodia, Myanmar & Hong Kong (November 2021)
The junta-appointed Union Election Commission (UEC) filed charges against 16 people, including Myanmar’s ousted leader Aung San Suu Kyi, President Win Myint, former UEC Chair Hla Thein and UEC members Myint Naing and Than Htay over their alleged electoral fraud in the 2020 elections. This is the first time that the junta
According to Myanmar’s National Unity Government’s (NUG) Defense Ministry, 1,300 junta soldiers were killed and 463 injured in clashes with civilian resistance groups in October which was almost double the number the junta’s forces suffered in September. The verdict against Myanmar’s ousted leader Aung San Suu Kyi for alleged violations of COVID-19
Myanmar’s ousted leader Aung San Suu Kyi has denied two charges that she allegedly breached COVID-19 restrictions during the 2020 general election campaign. Four soldiers and a policeman involved in the raid of Aung San Suu Kyi's residence were cross-examined by her lawyers in the trial for illegally importing and possessing walkie-talkies.
This monthly brief intends to provide an update on democracy and civil and political rights issues in selected countries and territories under a restrictive environment.
Myanmar’s ousted leader Daw Aung San Suu Kyi appeared at the Naypyitaw’s court and deny the charge of incitement made by the junta as she testified on her own behalf since she was detained during the 1 February coup1. U Win Htein, the detained patron of the NLD party, was sentenced to
At least 110 people, including rock singer Ito, NLD members and anti-regime protesters, have been rearrested across the country by the junta immediately after being released, while the junta said that more than 5,600 people in custody or wanted for anti-junta activism would be released or have their arrest warrants canceled1. The
Myanmar ousted leaders Aung San Suu Kyi and Win Myint pleaded not guilty to the charge of breaching COVID-19 restrictions during last year’s election campaign in the hearing indicted by a judge in Naypyitaw. Win Myint revealed the details story on the day of the 1 February coup, two senior army officers
The Asian Network for Free Elections (ANFREL) is pleased to welcome the Coalition for Clean and Fair Elections (BERSIH 2.0) from Malaysia and the Legal Network for Truthful Elections (LENTE) from the Philippines as new members of the ANFREL family. The ANFREL Executive Council during a special meeting on 5 October 2021
The Asian Network for Free Elections (ANFREL) is hosting two side events to the Asian Electoral Stakeholder Forum 5 on 21 October 2021 at 3-4 p.m. (Bangkok time). The two parallel side events will discuss the democratic backsliding in Hong Kong and what the international community could do nine months since the
Panel discussions and speakers for the fifth Asian Electoral Stakeholders Forum (AESF 5) was announced today, 13 October 2021. AESF 5, which will be hosted online this year on 20-21 October 2021, will hold four panel discussions on (1) addressing electoral challenges and democratic backsliding in Asia, (2) success stories of holding
Ousted leader Daw Aung San Suu Kyi described as “all absurd” the testimony by the detained Yangon Chief Minister U Phyo Min Thein against her. She has applied for hearings to take place every two weeks instead of weekly as her health has suffered from her frequent appearances at court. The defense
ANFREL and A-WEB are co-hosting this year's Asian Electoral Stakeholder Forum (AESF) which will be conducted online on 20-21 October 2021. AESF is the largest gathering of electoral stakeholders in Asia. Working group meetings are being conducted ahead of the forum to discuss pressing electoral issues and devise solutions to address them.
The court trying ousted leader Aung San Suu Kyi, her economic adviser Prof. Sean Turnell, and three Union ministers who have been charged under the Official Secrets Act have been moved to another venue within the Nay Pyi Taw Council compound with a limited number of lawyers allowed to attend. Phyo Min
The following is the August issue of ANFREL's Monthly Brief on Countries under Restrictive Environment that covers democracy and civil and political rights issues in Bangladesh, Cambodia, Myanmar, and Hong Kong.
Ousted leader Aung San Suu Kyi pleaded ‘not guilty’ to incitement charges under Section 505b of the Penal Code According to her legal team and her economic adviser Sean Turnell, she appeared at the Dekkhinathiri District Court in Naypyitaw, along with three ousted Union ministers for the first time since their arrest
The junta will put ousted leader Aung San Suu Kyi on a new trial on four charges of corruption beginning on Oct 1 in Naypyidaw, adding to the ongoing cases that could see her jailed for decades. The Special Court in Naypyidaw has set a date for the sentencing of three defendants,
Myanmar’s National Unity Government (NUG) declared on 7 September a people’s “defensive war” against the junta, calling on all citizens to “revolt against the rule of military terrorists led by coup leader Min Aung Hlaing in every corner of the country” and declared all of Myanmar to be under a state of
ASEAN's special envoy to Myanmar is in talks with the junta for his trip to Myanmar and seeking access to ousted leader Aung San Suu Kyi. He has proposed a 4-month ceasefire by all sides to enable the smooth delivery of the first batch of humanitarian assistance to the country. The National
The following is the August issue of ANFREL's Monthly Brief on Countries under Restrictive Environment that covers democracy and civil and political rights issues in Bangladesh, Cambodia, Myanmar, and Hong Kong. Download here: Monthly Brief on Countries under Restrictive Environment - Series #5 (August 2021)
The undersigned organizations express their concern about the rapidly unfolding developments occurring in Afghanistan, including the entrance of Taliban troops in the capital Kabul on 15 August in violation of their February 2020 agreement with the government of the United States of America, the exile of President Ashraf Ghani, and growing numbers
The Asian Network for Free Elections (ANFREL), the leading election monitoring group in Asia, is proud to launch its pilot media fellowship on election reporting for Southeast Asian journalists. The fellowship program seeks to equip journalists from independent news outlets and freelance journalists in empowering the electorate through crucial reporting of underrepresented
ANFREL member Transparency Maldives is calling for abstract submissions for the first issue of their new digest. Scheduled to be published in September 2021, the issue will be on "drivers and social problems that increase the vulnerabilities, especially of young people, and make them more susceptible to violent extremism and radicalization." Submissions
Seventeen international human rights organizations today denounced the Thai government’s newly announced Regulation No. 29, which empowers the authorities to censor online expression, and investigate and prosecute individuals responsible for communications that may “instigate fear”. The Regulation is the government’s latest attack on the right to freedom of expression and information in
The Myanmar military, or Tatmadaw, staged a military coup on 1 February 2021, just before the new parliament elected through the 2020 General Elections was to convene. The coup triggered mass nationwide protests and a civil disobedience movement, causing over 900 people being killed and thousands being detained to date. On the
