Myanmar’s junta-held election will not mask the nation’s dire economic condition, experts warn, as civil war drives some of the highest inflation in Asia, power shortages hack at production and the country’s military rulers seek fast cash from the sale of rare earths and kickbacks from drugs and scams.
The military has begun a phased election, with voting in some areas taking place on Sunday and further rounds planned in January, a process critics say is designed to project control rather than resolve the country’s grinding political and economic crisis.
Much of the damage dates back to the pandemic, which was quickly followed by the 2021 coup that plunged the country into chaos and civil war.
The Asian Development Bank expects growth this year to slip to minus 3 per cent, while inflation has tracked at more than 20 per cent this year.
Money has been especially hard to find for rebuilding after a devastating earthquake in March, which compounded the damage already inflicted by years of war.
Myanmar was not always a byword for economic dysfunction in the region.
