Bangladesh, Dec. 26 -- Myanmars military junta is once again presenting elections as a solution to national collapse. More than three years after the February 2021 coup, Senior General Min Aung Hlaings regime claims that a carefully staged vote will restore political order, revive the economy, and reestablish international legitimacy. Yet this narrative collapses under even minimal scrutiny. Far from offering a pathway out of crisis, a junta-run election risks deepening Myanmars civil war, institutionalizing state fragmentation, and exposing the profound failure of ASEANs approach to the countrys implosion.

Myanmar today is not a post-crisis state preparing for democratic renewal. It is a country in the midst of one of the most severe in...