Myanmar’s military junta chief, Min Aung Hlaing, announced that the country’s general election would take place in December 2025 or January 2026. This will be the first election since the military seized power in a coup in 2021.
According to Myanmar’s state media, Global New Light of Myanmar, Min Aung Hlaing stated, “We are planning to hold the election between December 2025 and January 2026.” During his visit to Belarus on Friday, he emphasized that Myanmar would conduct “free and fair” elections. He mentioned that 53 political parties had already registered to participate.
In a meeting with Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko in Minsk, Min Aung Hlaing extended an invitation to Belarusian election observers to monitor the election process in Myanmar.
The Myanmar military took control of the country on February 1, 2021, alleging widespread fraud in the 2020 national elections, where Aung San Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy (NLD) secured a landslide victory. Following the coup, the junta launched a violent crackdown on dissenters and NLD supporters, detaining Aung San Suu Kyi under house arrest. Anti-junta protests and resistance have continued ever since.
Despite ongoing instability, the junta leader reiterated promises of a multi-party election. In June, he had announced plans for elections in 2025, citing the ongoing violence as the reason for previous delays. Min Aung Hlaing insisted that the junta had no intention of holding onto power indefinitely.
However, opposition groups and analysts argue that no legitimate election can take place under the junta’s rule. They warned that anti-military groups might target the election, potentially leading to further violence.
According to the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP), over 6,300 people have been killed and more than 28,000 detained by the military since the coup. The United Nations reports that more than 3.5 million people have been displaced, with over a third of Myanmar’s population, or 19.9 million people, expected to require humanitarian aid this year.