Washington, DC — Representatives Gregory W. Meeks and Brian Mast, Ranking Member and Chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, and Senators Jeanne Shaheen and James E. Risch, Ranking Member and Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, issued the following statement about the forthcoming elections in Burma on December 28, which are being organized by the Burmese military with China’s support. The House Foreign Affairs Committee hosted a hearing on November 19, where witnesses unanimously determined that, based on fundamental flaws and preliminary conduct, the elections could not be free or fair.
“Burma’s planned elections this December are proving to be a sham. Orchestrated by the military junta to deceive the international community, these elections are designed to manufacture legitimacy for the China-backed junta after its 2021 coup and ongoing campaign of violence against the Burmese people. Almost five years after the coup, the junta struggles to control territory despite increased political and military backing from China and Russia. In keeping with America’s commitment to democracy and internationally recognized human rights, we urge the Trump administration – and all of America’s democratic allies – to speak out against these flawed elections and any electoral results that would deny the right of the Burmese people to freely and fairly choose their own government.
“At great risk of death, imprisonment, and torture, the Burmese people have bravely resisted the junta’s authoritarian rule and prevented it from consolidating control over the country. The junta’s dissolution of several political parties in 2023, including the National League of Democracy, coupled with the continued imprisonment, persecution, or exile of many officials duly elected in the 2020 general elections, makes clear that any forthcoming vote risks being neither free nor fair. Under these conditions, the United States must categorically reject this electoral farce.”
