Southeast Asian MPs to ASEAN: Will You Honour Your Declaration or Greenlight Myanmar Junta’s Sham Elections?

JAKARTA, 4 August 2025— As Myanmar military reshuffles its power under the guise of electoral reform, ASEAN Parliamentarians for Human Rights (APHR) joins the regional collective outcry following Min Aung Hlaing’s latest attempt to make their rule look legitimate through a sham election.

The junta’s recent claim of returning state power by dissolving the State Administration Council and forming a new governing body is nothing more than a rebranding exercise. This move highlights the military ongoing strategy of reshuffling titles and structures to keep control and avoid accountability. Despite the formal dissolution, coup leader Min Aung Hlaing, continues to hold all key powers under new titles, reinforcing the entrenched cycle of impunity that has defined the junta’s rule since the coup in 2021.

This act ignores the struggles of the Myanmar people, who for more than four years have endured arrests, torture and airstrikes simply for speaking out.

On July 11 this year, ASEAN has clearly declared its position stating ‘we advised Myanmar that an election is not a priority for now, the priority is to cease all violence… so that all parties can sit together’.

“In the face of yet another facade of ballot boxes and broken promises, we call on ASEAN to stand by its own words. If the regional bloc truly believes that peace and dialogue should precede any vote, it must urgently hold Myanmar’s junta accountable, refuse to legitimize this travesty and demand an immediate ceasefire to ensure dialogue,” remarked Mercy Chriesty Barends, APHR Chairperson and Member of the House of Representatives of Indonesia.

Charles Santiago, APHR Co-Chairperson and former Malaysian Member of Parliament emphasized that, “by reenacting these conditions, the junta not only invalidates the will of the Myanmar people but also violates international norms and obligations under the ASEAN Charter.”

APHR therefore stresses its unwavering position that the ASEAN and its member states demand an immediate end to all violent repression, to refuse recognition of any government formed under military control and to support meaningful dialogue with all legitimate representatives of Myanmar.

“We reject Min Aung Hlaing’s attempts to manufacture legitimacy through bogus constitutional processes. ASEAN’s enduring values cannot be reconciled with the junta’s continued campaign of terror against its own communities. We call on our fellow parliamentarians across the region to uphold the dignity of our collective community by refusing to validate this false display of democracy,” reiterated Wong Chen, APHR Board Member and Member of the Malaysian Parliament.

APHR underscores its stand that there is no just future in being indifferent to violence and the reign of authoritarian terror in the ASEAN region.

ASEAN must intervene decisively and urgently through diplomatic isolation of the junta, targeted sanctions against its leadership and unimpeded humanitarian assistance to restore hope for a peaceful and democratic future in Myanmar. #