New Zealand Parliament Unanimously Rejects Junta’s “Sham Election,” Says Vote Lacks Legitimacy

November 5, 2025

HURFOM: The Parliament of New Zealand has unanimously endorsed a motion declaring that the Myanmar military junta’s planned election is a fake process that should not be accepted. The motion was tabled by Hon. Phil Twyford, Member of Parliament from the Labour Party, and seconded by the Green Party. No MPs objected, and New Zealand’s Foreign Minister also voiced support for the motion inside parliament.

Speaking to the House, MP Hon. Phil Twyford said New Zealand must stand with the people of Myanmar, who are bravely resisting “one of the most brutal military dictatorships in the world today.” He warned that the generals are trying to hold what he called “not a general election, but a general’s election”, a process designed only to make the regime look civilian and to gain international recognition that it does not deserve.

“It cannot be free and fair. It is a sham election,” he said.
The motion clearly stated that the Junta’s planned polls will not be free, fair, or credible and will not contribute to any genuine or lasting peace in Myanmar. It also pointed out that the military is planning to hold the vote only in areas it controls, that no real opposition parties will be allowed, and that the regime has recently passed repressive laws criminalizing public criticism of the election, with even teenagers jailed for Facebook posts. These, the motion said, are “clear flaws” that show the process has no legitimacy.

Hon. Twyford told parliament that, ahead of the election, the military has actually increased airstrikes, artillery attacks, and scorched-earth operations on civilians, hitting schools, churches, monasteries, hospitals, and IDP camps. He said everyone the New Zealand delegation met on their fact-finding mission wanted the international community to reject the junta’s election outright.

The New Zealand parliament’s motion also called for the urgent implementation of UN Security Council Resolution 2669 on Myanmar, and the ASEAN Five-Point Consensus on ending violence and starting dialogue, saying these are necessary steps toward a long-term political solution in Myanmar.

Twyford further reminded the House that the military leader, Min Aung Hlaing, seized power in a coup, has waged war on his own people for nearly four years, and now wants to use an election to “launder” that power. He said the international community should not recognize the polls and should instead support Myanmar’s democratic forces, who are working toward a bottom-up, federal democracy in liberated areas.

He also called on countries that still deal with the Junta, including China, India, and Russia, to stop supplying weapons, training, and finances to a military that bombs schools and hospitals.
“If you believe in democracy, human rights, and international law, the people of Myanmar need you now,” he said.

The New Zealand parliament’s decision is a clear signal from a democratic country that the Junta’s election is not a legitimate political process, but an attempt to entrench military rule and silence public criticism.

Written by HURFOM · Filed Under News