Myanmar's Aung San Suu Kyi Charged for Alleged Electoral Fraud
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Myanmar's junta set the end of this month as the date for issuing the first verdict in the cases attributed to leader Aung San Suu Kyi over electoral fraud.
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The junta said it took power because the election commission ignored its complaints that Suu Kyi's party rigged the election.
Myanmar's junta has charged leader Aung San Suu Kyi with committing electoral fraud during the 2020 polls, state media reported Tuesday.
Suu Kyi, 76, was arrested just before the February 1 coup. She is facing 11 criminal charges with maximum penalties and could face decades in jail if convicted.
The Nobel Peace Prize winner is one of 16 people, most of whom are former election commissioners, who have been accused of being involved in "electoral fraud and lawless actions", including sedition, corruption, and violating the Official Secrets Act.
She will hear the verdict in her trial for incitement against the military on November 30, a source with knowledge of the matter told AFP on Tuesday.
In the days after the coup, Suu Kyi and ousted President Win Myint were allegedly involved in circulating an unsigned letter urging foreign countries not to recognize the military council.
Suu Kyi and Win Myint deny the allegations, justifying that they both were in solitary confinement at the time.
In July, the junta canceled the results of the polls, announcing it had uncovered more than 11 million instances of voter irregularities.
The military said it took power because the election commission ignored its complaints that Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy, which won elections last year by an overwhelming majority, rigged the results.
Junta chief Min Aung Hlaing has said fresh elections will be held and a state of emergency lifted by August 2023, extending the initial timeline the military gave when it seized power.
For its part, the UN Security Council expressed its "deep concern" last week about the unrest in Myanmar and called for an "immediate cessation of violence" and for efforts to ensure that civilians are not harmed.
