Dictators Don’t Take Holidays |
On December 28, Myanmar will hold its first set of elections since a military coup in 2021. Despite the United States claiming the country is now safe for citizens to return, a civil war, which has displaced millions, rages on. International observers, troubled by the scale of fighting and numerous disputed territories, have criticized the proposed ballot as “a desperate bid” for international legitimacy and insisted that a period of inclusive political dialogue must precede any act of democratic engagement.
The ballot promises two results: the first is that the military-aligned Union Solidarity and Development Party will prevail. The second is that the opposition National Unity Government, which represents the resistance to military rule, will fade further into the background.
But the question is, why now?
The answer involves the need for the military to bolster its legitimacy. A victory for the junta’s political proxy is guaranteed to be signed off by allied autocracies, including China and Russia, which have each provided military aid to counter the progress of rebel groups. Meanwhile, staging a ballot in late December also coincides with the Christmas and New Year governmental shutdowns in the nations that have been overtly critical of the military’s behavior to date, including the European Union, the United Kingdom, and the United States.
Myanmar would not be the only country to use this annual shutdown period in an attempt to consolidate power. In January 2021, in what constituted the single-largest crackdown of opposition voices in the........