Myanmar’s military government has held talks with three ethnic armed groups on staging elections in areas under rebel control, a spokesman for one of the groups has said.
Leaders from the Shan State Progress Party (SSPP), United Wa State Party (UWSP) and National Democratic Alliance Army — which have largely stayed out of a growing conflict that has gripped the country since the military staged a coup in February 2021 — are holding three days of talks in the capital, Naypyidaw, state media reported on Friday.
The holding of a general election is widely seen as an attempt to normalize the military’s seizure of power through the ballot box and to deliver a result that ensures the generals retain control. The military will control the entire voting process and has spent the past two years enfeebling any credible opposition.
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