After the military took control of Myanmar in 2021, guerilla fighters have been waging a war against the military junta, targeting military personnel, police who comply with the junta, as well as appointed political figures.  This past week, Sai Kyaw Thu was assassinated by the People’s Defense Force, which supports the democratic National Unity Government (an opposition group within Myanmar).  Thu was a former lieutenant colonel who was placed in charge of helping to prepare for elections to occur within Myanmar within the next few years.  The resistance fighters do not believe that it is legitimate elections because the government of Aung Sun Suu Kyi was violently deposed and replaced with the junta.

ABC news reported that “A member of the guerrilla group said in a text message on Sunday that Sai Kyaw Thu was assassinated ‘for being the deputy director-general of the illegal election commission of the military council, which disrespected the votes of the people in 2020 general election and abused the people unjustly, and also for being the one who falsely prosecuted President Win Myint and Aung San Suu Kyi as an accessory of the military council.'”

The issue with this assassination is the junta now has more incentive to use force to crush the opposition and may push back the upcoming elections even further.  The junta may point to the fact that the new election commission was created to give the population a chance to vote, but if resistance is so strong that officials are being assassinated, then there may be no reason to hold elections at all.

Justice Rozic

Top election official in Myanmar assassinated by guerrillas – ABC News (go.com)