The Myanmar military council on Monday annulled the results of the 2020 elections, which were won by Aung San Suu Kyi's party, claiming that the election was "neither free nor fair." This decision comes approximately six months after a coup that ousted the Nobel Peace Prize-winning civilian leader.
An electoral committee affiliated with the military announced that investigations revealed over 11 million fraudulent votes in the elections that saw Suu Kyi's party, the National League for Democracy (NLD), achieve a landslide victory over the army-allied opposition. The committee's head, Thane Su, stated that the NLD attempted to seize state power from opposing parties and candidates by exploiting restrictions imposed to contain COVID-19. He further noted that the election "was neither free nor fair, thus the results have been annulled."
It has not been disclosed whether new elections will be held in the country, which has a population of 54 million. The military council had previously announced that new elections would take place within two years and hinted at dissolving the NLD.
Suu Kyi has been detained since the coup and faces a series of charges, including violations of COVID-19 containment measures and unlawful importation of walkie-talkies, with potential sentences exceeding ten years if convicted.
Since the coup, Myanmar has descended into chaos, with protests and partial economic paralysis due to widespread strikes. The coup has sparked a protest movement that security forces have violently suppressed, resulting in the deaths of over 900 people, including children and women, according to the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners.
The country is currently facing an unprecedented pandemic peak, exacerbated by a lack of supportive doctors in hospitals who are hiding for fear of arrest. On Monday, the World Bank projected that the Myanmar economy would contract by 18% in 2021 due to the crackdown on protests following the coup and the ongoing third wave of the pandemic.
In 2020, the NLD performed better in the elections compared to the 2015 elections. In a report on the 2020 elections, the Asian Network for Free Elections stated that the results "generally reflected the will of the people."
