Voters in Yangon and Ayeyarwady regions ‘coerced’
Residents of Yangon’s Lanmadaw Township told DVB that military regime administration officials coerced them to vote during the third and final round of polls in the three-phased 2025-26 elections on Sunday. The regime’s Union Election Commission (UEC) reported that it had held polls in 17 Yangon townships.
“We heard rumors that those who didn’t vote would be banned from traveling abroad,” a Yangon resident told DVB on the condition of anonymity. Former political prisoner and 88 Generation Students leader Ko Ko Gyi, the founder and chairperson of the People’s Party, is contesting a seat in Lanmadaw for the Pyithu Hluttaw, or lower house of parliament.
A resident of Danubyu Township in neighbouring Ayeyarwady Region told DVB on the condition of anonymity that regime officials said those who don’t vote will be considered supporters of the resistance and prosecuted. Danubyu is located 80 miles (128 km) northeast of the region’s capital Pathein and 68 miles (109 km) northwest of Yangon. Read more
Burmese diaspora calls on Canada to reject election results
Members of the Burmese community in Canada delivered an open letter with 1,000 signatures to the Prime Minister of Canada Mark Carney today. It urges the Canadian government to publicly denounce the results of the military’s 2025-26 “sham” elections in Burma and to reject any attempt to legitimize military rule via the ballot box.
“An open letter [has] already been formally submitted to the Prime Minister through a London-area [member of parliament from the province of Ontario] and an opposition MP, calling on Canada to clearly reject the Burmese military’s sham elections. We hope Canada will hear our voices and act in solidarity with the Burmese people,” said a statement from the Burmese Community (Canada).
Burmese in Canada are calling on Ottawa to maintain a principled stance in support of democracy, human rights, and freedom, and to reject any electoral process carried out under military control in Burma. There’s widespread concern within the Burmese diaspora over elections being conducted amid ongoing violence, political repression, mass displacement, and the detention of the country’s elected leaders.
Demonstrators hold signs advocating for Temporary Protected Status in front of the White House in Washington, D.C., on Jan. 8, 2018. (Credit: Reuters)
US federal judge pauses Temporary Protected Status cancellation
A U.S. federal judge ordered the Trump administration to postpone the termination of Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for nearly 4,000 citizens of Burma that was scheduled to happen today. U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem announced the administration’s intention to terminate TPS for Burma, citing that the country’s conditions “no longer hinder the safe return” of Burma nationals on Nov. 25.
“The Court cannot discern a genuine basis for the Secretary’s action in the record and finds it more likely that the decision to terminate TPS was not actually rooted in the reasons cited in the notice,” the judge wrote. “It is more plausible that TPS was terminated to effectuate the Secretary’s broader goal of curtailing immigration and eliminating TPS generally, not on her evaluation of changed conditions in Burma,” the judge added.
TPS was first granted to Burma nationals living in the U.S. following the military coup on Feb. 1, 2021 that ousted the National League for Democracy (NLD) government led by Aung San Suu Kyi, which saw her and President Win Myint jailed and led to a nationwide resistance and the displacement of over 3.6 million people from their homes, according to the U.N. Read more
News by Region
KACHIN—At least 18 civilians were killed and more than 20 others were injured by an airstrike carried out by the Burma Air Force at a funeral ceremony in Bhamo Township, southern Kachin State, on Thursday, according to residents and the Kachin Independence Army (KIA).
The airstrike hit Htilin Kawngja village, west of Bhamo town, where mourners had gathered for the funeral, sources told DVB. Bhamo is located 118 miles (190 km) south of the Kachin State capital Myitkyina and 56 miles (90 km) southwest of the KIA headquarters Laiza. Read more
MANDALAY—Residents told DVB that regime leader Senior General Min Aung Hlaing visited polling stations in Chanmyathazi Township during the third and final round of voting on Sunday. Chanmyathazi is located three miles (4.8 km) southeast of Mandalay, Burma’s second largest city.
“We don’t care if foreign countries recognize the elections or not. We recognize that people cast ballots,” Min Aung Hlaing told pro-regime media. A resident told DVB on the condition of anonymity that regime authorities set up roadblocks and checkpoints in Mandalay during Min Aung Hlaing’s visit.
SAGAING—Residents of Indaw Township told DVB that at least five People’s Defence Force (PDF) members were killed and two civilians were injured by airstrikes carried out by the Air Force in Mawlu town on Wednesday. An Indaw resident blamed military informants for sharing details that targeted the PDF.
“The jet dropped two bombs on a PDF office which was a repurposed village clinic,” the resident told DVB on the condition of anonymity. Indaw, located 209 miles (336 km) north of the region’s capital Monywa, was seized by the KIA and its allied PDF in April. Read more
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