ASIA/MYANMAR – National Human Rights Commission welcomes the release of political prisoners and considers the elections “an opportunity”

Yangon – Myanmar’s military junta has released over 3,000 political prisoners from Insein prison in Yangon. The detainees had been arrested as regime opponents after the 2021 coup and accused of “sedition.” The generals stated that the sentences were withdrawn “to ensure they do not lose their right to vote in the upcoming democratic multi-party general elections.”
With elections scheduled to take place in several phases starting in late December and continuing into January 2026, Myanmar’s National Human Rights Commission, an independent body but composed of government-appointed commissioners, sent letters to various junta ministers with explicit demands: One letter to the Interior Minister called for the release of political prisoners, which has since been carried out; In a letter to the Minister of Health, a demand was made to guarantee the right to vote to all the sick and those in hospitals by establishing special polling stations; and in a letter to the Minister of Social Welfare, a demand was made to enable all people with disabilities to exercise their right and duty to vote.
“We welcome the release of prisoners and hope that others will also be released or granted amnesty. We believe that elections are the fundamental instrument of democracy and therefore support the electoral process by demanding that it be free and transparent,” Joseph Win Hlaing Oo, a Catholic and member of Myanmar’s National Human Rights Commission, told Fides.
Joseph Win Hlaing Oo is aware of the critical situation and the difficulties under which the elections will be held, given the civil war in the country and the fact that voting is not possible in many areas. Nevertheless, he sees the elections as an opportunity: “We ask the international community to send observers to ensure that the elections are legitimate and free. Our country urgently needs a return to democracy, and this election, despite the difficulties and under the current circumstances, is certainly a necessary first step,” he concludes.

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