A video posted on the Facebook page of President U Thein Sein raising the spectre of bloodshed and chaos akin to the Arab Spring aftermath if his party loses power on November 8 has drawn an angry response on social media.

The tightly edited four-minute feature was posted days before the country heads to the polls on November 8 in a landmark election that is expected to see the National League for Democracy make major gains.

The video juxtaposes scenes of recent violence in the Middle East with shots of seeming tranquility and development in Myanmar during its transition toward democracy, backed by a heavy metal soundtrack.

It ends with the words, “Only when peace prevails will democratisation be implemented.”

“It was about the transformation of Myanmar into a democratic country,” said U Zaw Htay, a director in the President’s Office.

But many local social media users accused the President’s Office of hypocrisy. “Taking students to prison while they were protesting in Letpadan for our people’s education system, was that a peaceful way of transforming to democracy?” wrote Thet Ko Ko under the Facebook video on the president’s page – a reference to the recent arrest and trial of student protesters.

“The beautiful Kachin is now left with piles of waste soil ... Peaceful way, huh?” wrote user Pharsi Myae, a reference to military-controlled mining operations in the northern state of Kachin, which has been blighted by decades of war.