\n<\/p>\n
Myanmar will begin its general elections on 28 December, its military government announced, in a phased poll widely condemned as a sham that will be used to entrench the junta’s power.<\/p>\n
This will be the first vote since the junta seized power in a bloody coup in 2021, and imprisoned democratically elected leader Aung San Sung Kyi.<\/p>\n
Myanmar has been embroiled in a civil war since, with deadly battles between the military and ethnic armed groups, many of whom have said they would not permit voting in their areas.<\/p>\n
Previous plans to hold an election were repeatedly delayed as the military has struggled to contain an opposition insurgency which has gained control over much of the country. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n
Some 55 parties have registered for the polls, state media said Monday, adding that nine of them plan to compete for seats nationwide.<\/p>\n
“The first phase of the multi-party democratic general election for each parliament will begin on Sunday, 28 December 2025,” Myanmar’s election commission said in a statement.<\/p>\n
“Dates for the subsequent phases will be announced later.”<\/p>\n
With large parts of Myanmar under opposition control and in a state of war, holding this election is a formidable logistical exercise for the country’s military rulers. <\/p>\n
But the junta’s leader Min Aung Hlaing, who led the catastrophic coup four and a half years ago, has said the vote must go ahead, and has threatened severe punishment for anyone who criticises or obstructs the election. <\/p>\n
The National League for Democracy, led by Suu Kyi, which won landslides in the two elections prior to the coup, will not be allowed to contest this one. <\/p>\n
The planned election has been widely dismissed, but it has the support of Myanmar’s most powerful neighbour China, which views stability in the South East Asian nation as a vital strategic interest<\/a>.<\/p>\n Critics believe the junta will use the polls to maintain its power through proxy political parties. <\/p>\n Tom Andrews, the United Nation’s special rapporteur on the rights situation in Myanmar, had in June accused the junta of designing a “mirage of an election exercise” to give itself a veneer of legitimacy. <\/p>\n Andrews called on the international community to reject the elections to “not allow the military junta to… get away with this fraud”.<\/p>\n Thousands of people have been killed across Myanmar since the coup, which has destroyed the economy across much of the country and left a humanitarian vacuum.<\/p>\n Myanmar has also been hit by a devastating earthquake in March<\/a> and international funding cuts, that have left vulnerable people in desperate and dangerous predicaments.<\/p>\n