GENEVA

The UN human rights office warned on Friday that next month's military-organized elections in Myanmar will take place "in an atmosphere rife with threats and violence," raising concerns about the safety of civilians and the integrity of the process.

At a UN briefing in Geneva, spokesperson Jeremy Laurence said the military is moving ahead with a ballot that excludes major political parties and has unfolded alongside widespread repression.

"Over 30,000 of the military's political opponents… have been detained since 2021," while Rohingya, Tamils, Gurkhas, and Chinese communities remain barred from voting, he said, adding that civil society and independent media "have little to no voice."

The office noted that the military cannot conduct nationwide voting. Fifty-six townships will be excluded, and in 31 townships, "there will be no actual voting due to the absence of candidates."

UN human rights chief Volker Turk stated that the process appears "nearly certain to further ingrain insecurity, fear, and polarization," calling for an end to violence and the restoration of humanitarian access, Laurence concluded.

- UN's monitoring plans and next steps

Asked by Anadolu how the UN plans to monitor and document potential abuses during an election held under severe restrictions, James Rodehaver, head of the UN’s Myanmar team, said the office would continue relying on its long-established methods.

"We have a very well-established track record in monitoring events on the ground inside of Myanmar," he said. "We talk to people on the ground; we find various ways of conducting interviews with victims and eyewitnesses in order to meet a standard of proof… we try only to report… things that we’ve been able to verify to a legal standard."

He said the office will continue documenting how protections for civilians are being affected by the election process and emphasized that member states have a critical role to play.

"Member states need to be part of the process in holding the Myanmar military to account, and that means not extending legitimacy to them," he said.

Responding to the accountability, humanitarian aid, and protection of civilians parts of the question, Rodehaver said the office is gathering information "to a legal standard that we hope one day will be used to hold perpetrators… accountable."

On humanitarian access, he warned that it is "severely constrained" in the run-up to the election, with new checkpoints, movement restrictions, and displaced people being pressured to return home to vote "even if that means returning home in complete insecurity."

- Electronic voting and surveillance raise further concerns

Rodehaver said the military "made a point of choosing that this ballot will only be done by electronic voting machine," noting demonstrations suggest "there is no possibility to spoil your ballot," meaning voters "have to vote for one of the candidates listed."

He also described expanded electronic surveillance "utilizing AI biometric tracking," including monitoring at "bus terminals… train stations… checkpoints." People have been arrested even for liking "anti-military posts on Facebook" since 2022, he said.

The concern is that the technology could be used "to monitor how people are voting," leaving civilians "caught between the two warring sides," he cautioned.

Villagers in contested areas are also being ordered to attend military-run training on electronic voting machines, with some later warned by armed groups not to vote.

Rodehaver said early voting has begun as the military continues to claim it has issued thousands of pardons. But he noted that "rarely do the numbers released by the military match those who actually are allowed to leave prisons," adding that "nearly 22,000 remain in detention."

He said the military is also "boasting of over 100 persons it claims to have arrested" under new election rules, including "three young people" who received 49-year sentences for hanging posters depicting a ballot box with a bullet.