The Multi-Ethnic Councils (MEC) and Federal Units have jointly announced their rejection of the military council’s illegal sham election. The MEC has agreed to build a future federal democratic union through a bottom-up federalism approach, starting with strengthening states to build a stronger union. They have established a policy to end the centralized unitary system and military dictatorship that has been in place in Myanmar for about 80 years, replacing it with a new system based on strong representation, accountability and responsibility.
While the military council has announced it will hold phased elections starting December 28, these elections will neither reflect the will of the people nor solve Myanmar’s political problems, according to U Aung San Myint, spokesperson for the Multi-Ethnic Councils. He emphasized that this election is merely a political exit strategy to extend military dictatorship. The military’s sham election not only contradicts ASEAN’s Five-Point Consensus but also goes against the will of all ethnic peoples and the general public. The military council has violated its own 2008 Constitution through the coup, thereby nullifying it, and thus has no authority to hold elections.
The statement points out that the military’s attempt to hold an illegal sham election as a political exit strategy violates democratic principles and represents an illegitimate attempt to seize power. The results of the military’s sham election will not enable the construction of a federal union through the bottom-up federalism approach desired by ethnic revolutionary forces and federal unit organizations. Instead, it will perpetuate Myanmar’s political conflicts and make it more difficult to implement democracy, human rights, ethnic equality, and self-determination.
The Multi-Ethnic Councils and Federal Units are actively working to establish a Transitional Federal Democratic Government (TFDG) and draft Articles of Federal Transitional Arrangement (AFTA) in line with their vision for a future federal democratic union. They have already begun implementing a three-pillar system in states and federal units, incorporating elected representatives and all relevant stakeholders through coordination and negotiation. The joint statement was issued by multiple organizations including the Karenni National Progressive Party, Karen National Union, Chin National Front, and several other ethnic and democratic organizations, all of whom have declared they will not politically recognize the military’s illegal sham election and urge the international community not to recognize or cooperate with it.
