The military government in Myanmar is holding elections at a time when the country is going through a serious political and humanitarian crisis. This election is being held almost five years after the military coup of 2021, but huge doubts are being raised about it in the country and the world. Major political parties have been dissolved, many top leaders are in jail and due to the ongoing civil war, large parts of the country are going to stay out of the vote. This election will run in a phased manner for one month.
The military regime has decided to conduct voting in a phased manner. Voting will take place in only 274 townships out of 330 in the next one month. The remaining areas have been kept out of the elections as they are considered unstable. Experts say that in reality voting will not take place in almost half of the country. Even where voting will take place, elections will not be held on all seats, due to which it is difficult to estimate the voting percentage.
Before the elections, the military government has implemented a new strict law, under which there is a provision of severe punishment, even death penalty, for opposing or disrupting the elections. So far, more than 200 people have been charged under this law. Famous film director Mike Tee, actor Kyaw Win Htut and comedian On Dying have been sentenced to seven years in prison for criticizing an election campaign film.
myanmar election schedule
The Army-appointed Union Election Commission (UEC) is conducting elections in a phased manner due to the ongoing civil war in the country.
First Step: Will happen on 28 December 2025. It consists of 102 townships, including the capital Naypyidaw as well as major cities such as Yangon and Mandalay.
Second step: Will happen on 11 January 2026. In this phase, voting will be conducted in 100 townships.
third step: Will happen on 25 January 2026. This will include 63 townships.
Final results: All the results of the elections are expected to be declared by the end of January 2026.
What is the opinion of United Nations regarding Myanmar?
UN human rights chief Volker Turk has said that there is no scope left for freedom of expression, organization and peaceful protest in Myanmar. He says that pressure is being put on common citizens from all sides.
The army is fighting on many fronts in the country. On one side there are armed groups opposing the coup, and on the other side there are ethnic armed organizations. The army, with the support of China and Russia, has taken back some areas in recent months, but the situation is still extremely unstable.
Aung San Suu Kyi About 40 parties including the National League for Democracy are banned. Suu Kyi and many leaders of her party are in jail or outside the country. Western countries and the European Parliament have termed this election as a sham, while ASEAN has demanded political dialogue first. Despite this, the military government says that it wants to take the country towards multi-party democracy.
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