Burma
Special Task Agency of Burma (STA), a resistance group based in Yangon, has urged political parties in Myanmar not to participate in or support the election the Myanmar military regime plans to hold next year, warning those that do will face consequences.
The military regime is under growing pressure at home and abroad, fighting People’s Defense Force resistance groups and ethnic armed organizations on multiple fronts, as well as struggling to handle a mass civil disobedience movement, diplomatic isolation and international pressure from foreign governments and activists advocating for democracy in Myanmar. The regime seeks to hold an election as a way out of the crisis.
“It is the political parties that can prevent the regime from implementing its exit strategy. It is important for political parties to act in all seriousness to prevent the 2023 election from taking place,” the STA said in a statement issued on Wednesday.
The group warned political parties not to register for next year’s election and not to support the junta-appointed Union Election Commission or the election.
“Any party that joins hands with the regime to contest the election or support, aid and abet in organizing the election will have to pay one day,” the statement reads.
The regime has been compiling voter lists and selecting sites for polling stations for the election, which it plans to hold in August.
The STA is an urban underground resistance group targeting junta troops, junta-controlled ministries, informants and other junta-linked targets in the commercial capital.
Myanmar’s ousted ruling National League for Democracy (NLD) and parallel civilian National Unity Government (NUG) have condemned the regime’s planned election.
The UN and US have also warned that the junta’s election would be a fraud, as it would be neither free nor fair.