Five years of brutal conflict have made the army more determined to crush opposition, and others more convinced they must resist<\/p>\n
China promoted elections in Myanmar<\/a>, while those fighting for democracy boycotted them. That tells you everything about the shift to a supposedly civilian administration in the coming days, five years after the military seized power in a coup. It appears likely that Min Aung Hlaing will swap his leadership of the army for the presidency<\/a>. Whatever the details, the junta will still be running the show, and bombing civilians \u2013 just while cosplaying as democrats.<\/p>\n Myanmar\u2019s suffering has been overshadowed by higher-profile wars. But the conflict-monitoring organisation Acled estimates that about 93,000 people have been killed since 2021, while the UN says that 3.6 million are displaced. The junta does not control much of the country, limiting where polls could be held. The opposition refused to take part, and others were excluded from voting because they are denied citizenship<\/a>. Little wonder the main military-backed party declared a landslide victory<\/a> \u2013 despite having won just 6% of the vote<\/a> in a 2020 election.<\/p>\n