Myanmar junta concludes sham elections as SAC-M calls for urgent international action

The Special Advisory Council for Myanmar (SAC-M) has condemned the Myanmar military junta’s three-phase election as a hollow and fraudulent exercise, calling it a deliberate attempt to mask authoritarian rule behind a veneer of electoral legitimacy.

The final phase of the junta's staged process concluded on 28 January 2026, bringing an end to what SAC-M described as a “sham election” that has been met with widespread domestic rejection and international criticism.

Based on the junta’s own projections, SAC-M estimates that at least 7.5 million people were excluded from participating, due to the regime’s limited territorial control and active conflict zones. The junta further cancelled voting in several polling locations during the final phase, deepening concerns over the process’s validity.

Turnout in the areas where voting proceeded has been reported as extremely low, with boycotts across the country reflecting deep public disdain for what SAC-M terms a “fabricated” political event. Almost all candidates permitted to contest were handpicked by the junta. Key democratic political parties have been deregistered or barred, and many opposition leaders remain imprisoned or disappeared.

In a statement released on 24 January 2026, SAC-M highlighted the intensifying repression accompanying the electoral process. Over 400 individuals have reportedly been prosecuted under the junta’s “Election Protection Law”, which SAC-M describes as a draconian measure used to silence criticism. The law allows for penalties including long-term imprisonment and even the death penalty for acts deemed disruptive to the election.

SAC-M also documented systematic attacks on civilians throughout the election period. Aerial strikes by junta forces targeted schools, hospitals, and residential areas in territories outside regime control. Dozens of civilians have been killed in what SAC-M characterises as part of an ongoing campaign of mass atrocities.

The regional response has grown increasingly critical. ASEAN has confirmed that it will not recognise the junta’s process. On 24 January 2026, Malaysian Foreign Minister Mohamad Hasan stated that the conditions set out by ASEAN leaders in October 2025 for a credible election in Myanmar were not met.

“The junta’s sham elections have lived up to all expectations in their absurdity,” said Ben Lee, Executive Director of SAC-M. “Any State, UN entity or company that legitimises the junta through engagement or recognition is complicit in its crimes.”

SAC-M is calling for an immediate international response to end what it describes as the junta’s campaign of terror. The organisation urges States to expand targeted financial sanctions, enforce comprehensive arms embargoes, and increase support for Myanmar’s legitimate democratic actors, including the National Unity Government, ethnic resistance organisations, and civil society networks.

In addition, SAC-M has reiterated the need for criminal accountability. It is calling on States to support and expand the International Criminal Court’s investigation into Myanmar and to push for arrest warrants against senior junta officials, including Commander-in-Chief Min Aung Hlaing, who has been accused of overseeing war crimes and crimes against humanity.

SAC-M further advocates for the continuation and support of the genocide case against Myanmar at the International Court of Justice, as well as the use of universal jurisdiction in national courts to prosecute those responsible for atrocity crimes.

While the junta concludes its electoral performance, SAC-M stresses that this development should not be interpreted as a transition to stability, but as a critical moment for the international community to act.

The Council warns that without urgent and coordinated measures, the junta will continue to escalate its violence under the cover of self-declared legitimacy.