UN expert: Myanmar junta will seek legitimacy in `sham’ vote

By EDITH M. LEDERER
Associated Press

UNITED NATIONS (AP) — The independent U.N. special investigator on Myanmar is warning that the country’s military rulers plan to seek legitimacy by orchestrating a “sham” election this year and is urging all countries to reject the illegal vote. Tom Andrews also urged countries that support human rights and democracy on Tuesday to recognize the underground  umbrella organization for opponents of military rule as the legitimate representative of Myanmar’s people. He says in a report released on the eve of the second anniversary of the ouster of Aung San Suu Kyi’s elected government that according to the constitution the military drafted in 2008, its coup on Feb. 1, 2021, “was illegal and its claim as Myanmar’s government is illegitimate.”