Seven charged under Election Protection Law
Sources close to the regime told DVB that four unidentified men and three unidentified women from Yangon’s Kamayut and Dala townships, Ayeyarwady’s Pathein and Wakema townships, Karenni’s Hpa-An and Shan’s Taunggyi townships, were charged under the Election Protection Law between Oct. 30 and Nov. 2 for criticizing the regime 2025-26 elections scheduled to begin on Dec. 28.
“Two of them were charged for criticizing the Union Election Commission campaign video,” a source told DVB on the condition of anonymity. Two are accused of destroying a Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP) poster. One is accused of assaulting a UEC member. Others allegedly shared election news from independent media outlets banned by the regime after the 2021 military coup.
The number of citizens charged under the Election Protection Law reached 102 on Nov. 3. The regime announced on Oct. 31 that a total of 83 men and five women had been charged under the Election Protection Law. A man in the Shan State capital Taunggyi was sentenced to seven years in prison with hard labor on Sept. 9 for violating the law by “disrupting the elections.”
Data for Myanmar documents arrests for social media posts
At least 1,993 people have been arrested since February 2022 for criticizing the military on social media, as well as for expressing support for anti-military groups, according to researchers at Data for Myanmar. Among the total arrested, 1,573 are from Yangon, Mandalay, Bago, Ayeyarwady, Magway regions, as well as Shan State.
It added in its report shared on Monday that 10 out of 25 people arrested in October for commenting or sharing posts on social media that allegedly “disrupt the elections” were charged for violating the Election Protection Law, which was enacted on July 29.
This law carries a minimum sentence of three years in prison and a maximum sentence of death. Three film directors and two actors have been arrested at their homes in Yangon since Oct. 28 and charged under the law for criticizing an election campaign video created and shared to social media by the UEC.
The western part of Demoso Township, Karenni State, was hit by airstrikes and three “suicide drones” carried out by regime forces on Nov. 3. (Credit: CJ)
Air and drone strikes kill five in Karenni State’s Demoso
Residents of Demoso Township in Karenni State told DVB that at least five people were killed and and three others were injured by airstrikes and “suicide” drones, which is an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) that detonates upon impact, carried out by regime forces on Monday. Demoso is located 11 miles (17 km) south of the Karenni State capital Loikaw.
A Demoso resident told DVB on the condition of anonymity that one of the five killed was an officer with the Karenni State Police Force, a law enforcement body under the Karenni Interim Executive Council (IEC), a provisional government set up by resistance forces in 2023. Two other police officers were seriously injured. Demoso town was recaptured by regime forces on Aug. 19 after a 16-day counteroffensive.
Three civilians were killed and eight were injured by drone attacks in Demoso and Hpruso, 22 miles (35 km) south of Loikaw, in October, according to the Karenni Nationalities Defence Force (KNDF). The UEC states that elections will begin on Dec. 28 in Loikaw, Bawlakhe, Hpruso, and Demoso townships, but polls will not be held in Mese, Hpasawng, and Shadaw townships, which are under resistance control.
News by Region
MAGWAY—Residents of Pauk Township told DVB that two were killed and more than 12,000 residents from 19 villages were forced to flee their homes due to attacks carried out by the military and pro-regime militias since Monday. Pauk is located 136 miles (218 km) north of the region’s capital Magway.
A Pauk resident told DVB on the condition of anonymity that two people were arrested during an arson attack. Three columns from the regime Directorate of Defence Industries (DDI) 22, known in Burmese as KaPaSa, in Seikphyu Township carried out attacks. The People’s Defense Force is assisting displaced Pauk residents.
NAYPYIDAW—Artists in Burma told DVB that they were instructed by the regime Ministry of Home Affairs to request permission from the township police and the Military Security Affairs Corps if they want to travel abroad on Oct. 30. This follows the arrest of three film directors and two actors on Oct. 31.
“I was turned back [at the airport] because I couldn’t present [a permission letter],” an artist told DVB on the condition of anonymity. A source told DVB that artists are barred from leaving the country without good reason until after the elections because the UEC wants them to appear in promotional videos.
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