After multiple delays, the military junta leader asserts that elections will proceed amid ongoing armed conflict.
PUBLISHED: 8 Mar 2025 at 17:07
Myanmar’s military government has announced plans to hold a general election in December 2025 or January 2026, marking the first concrete timeline provided by junta chief Min Aung Hlaing for the long-awaited polls amidst ongoing conflict in the nation.
The country has been in turmoil since early 2021, when the military deposed the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi, igniting widespread protests that have escalated into an armed resistance against the military regime.
Despite multiple assurances from Min Aung Hlaing regarding upcoming elections, state of emergency extensions have been commonplace, as his military struggles against a coalition of anti-junta factions and ethnic groups.
Critics of the junta cast doubt on the legitimacy of the upcoming elections, viewing them as a strategy to maintain military control through puppet parties, particularly given that numerous political organizations have been banned and the junta’s influence has waned in significant regions of Myanmar.
“We plan to conduct a free and fair election soon,” Min Aung Hlaing stated during a recent visit to Belarus, as reported by state media. He noted that 53 political parties have submitted lists to participate in the elections, though the affiliation of these parties with opposition or ethnic minority groups remains uncertain. The new election law has dramatically increased the membership requirement for political parties seeking representation, escalating it to 100 times the previous threshold established before the coup.
Due to ongoing violence, the junta could only complete a full, in-person census in 145 out of 330 townships as part of the voter registration process, according to a census report released in December.
The upcoming elections could exacerbate violence as the junta and its adversaries vie for territorial control in a conflict that has devastated Myanmar’s economy and displaced over 3.5 million people.
The National League for Democracy won the 2020 elections decisively, despite military allegations of voter fraud, which were largely dismissed by international observers. Following the coup, the military disbanded the election commission and appointed a new body that later reported finding 11 million cases of alleged polling irregularities.
