UnionAID stands with workers and democratic movements in Myanmar who reject the military junta’s sham elections scheduled to begin on 28 December 2025. There can be no credible vote while political leaders are jailed, independent unions and civil society are targeted, media is silenced, and conflict continues across large parts of the country.
The regime has rewritten electoral rules to entrench control, dissolved major opposition parties, and introduced harsh penalties that criminalise dissent. With swathes of the country excluded from voting and meaningful participation suppressed, this process has no legitimacy. Democratic actors, including the National Unity Government, have called for non‑recognition of the junta’s plan and a return to an inclusive, federal democratic path.
UnionAID backs Myanmar workers and unions organising for rights and safety in the toughest conditions, including our partner the Confederation of Trade Unions Myanmar (CTUM). We call on Aotearoa New Zealand and the international community to refuse recognition of any outcome engineered by the junta, press for the release of political prisoners, ensure humanitarian access, increase support to independent unions and civil society including CTUM, and back conditions for genuinely free and inclusive elections in the future.
