Myanmar polls will not be fair: US

A top US government official yesterday said there was "no chance" the Myanmar junta's planned elections next year would be free and fair.

Myanmar has been in turmoil and its economy paralysed since the February 2021 coup which ousted civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi. The junta scrapped a 2020 election won by Suu Kyi's party accusing massive fraud.

Almost 2,000 civilians have been killed in the junta's crackdown on dissent and more than 14,000 people have been arrested.

US State Department counsellor Derek Chollet cast doubt over the junta's pledge to hold new elections in August 2023.

"I think there's no chance it could be free and fair, and it can be an attempt to just manipulate the region, the international community," Chollet told the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore.

United Nations special envoy for Myanmar Noeleen Heyzer -- who has not been allowed to visit the country since she took up the role late last year -- fears an illegitimate poll could cause further unrest.