Myanmar's junta-stacked Union Election Commission announced Wednesday(October29) that international media organizations will be permitted to cover the country's upcoming polls, an apparent move toward inviting foreign scrutiny of the deeply disputed election.

The junta, which seized power in a 2021 coup, has touted the polls starting December 28 as a "path to peace." However, the election is being dismissed by monitors as a ploy to disguise continued military rule and will be blocked from large swathes of the country held by rebel forces.

According to the announcement in state newspaper The Global New Light of Myanmar, the junta-run information ministry "will scrutinize and endorse eligible international media organizations." It remains unclear what the vetting process will entail or which outlets will be granted access.

Officials from the junta’s election body demonstrate how to use an electronic voting machine at the National Defense Academy in Naypyitaw in February 2025

Critics were quick to point out the dual standard in this apparent welcome to the foreign press, contrasting it with the junta's severe tightening of regulations on all domestic political opposition. Rights groups have stated the election cannot be legitimate while democratic figurehead Aung San Suu Kyi remains jailed and her vastly popular National League for Democracy (NLD) party has been dissolved. Furthermore, the junta has made protesting against the poll punishable by up to a decade in prison.

The invitation also comes amid a near-total collapse of press freedom. Reporters Without Borders (RSF) states the junta has “shattered the media landscape” through censorship and intimidation.

Local journalists have borne the brunt of the crackdown, while most foreign media quit the country. AFP is the only international news agency to maintain a full in-country bureau. Myanmar ranked third globally among the worst jailers of journalists in 2024, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists.

Many local media outlets have shut down, moved to rebel-held areas, or now operate in secret or from exile.

A senior journalist for an independent Myanmar outlet told AFP the invitation was merely superficial. “The invitation is just a part of the process of their claim that they are holding a free and fair election,” he said, speaking on condition of anonymity. “We won't take any risk dealing with them. It is not possible to cover independently.”

Reflecting widespread international skepticism, diplomatic sources confirmed the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) will not send election observers, lest their presence lend legitimacy to a vote broadly viewed as neither free nor fair.

BOB Post