After nearly five years of persistent civil war and political turmoil, Myanmar has begun a general election process that its ruling military government portrays as a return to democratic rule.
The first phase of voting took place on December 28, 2025, and was the country’s first major electoral exercise because the military seized power in a coup in February 2021.
Despite the symbolic importance of re-casting ballots, deep questions remain about whether this election reflects the need of the people or as a substitute serves to consolidate military control in a rustic torn by conflict and repression.
Background: A coup d’etat become a civil war
The February 2021 coup ended Myanmar’s fragile democratic progress when the military overthrew the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy (NLD).
The military justified its takeover by alleging fraud within the 2020 elections, although independent observers found no evidence that might have modified the vote.
The coup sparked widespread protests that were met with brutal repression, which eventually become armed resistance.
Various ethnic armed organizations and newly formed People’s Defense Forces units took up arms against the junta, resulting in a widespread civil war that continues to say lives and displace tens of millions of individuals.
Over the next years, the conflict spread to much of the country. Battles between resistance groups and the military were fierce, with violence affecting civilians.
Major operations and clashes occurred in regions equivalent to Sagaing and Rakhine, where intense clashes and air attacks resulted in each casualties and displacement.
These ongoing hostilities have made it difficult to make sure stability across the country, which is now complicating the elections themselves.
How the elections are conducted
Elections in Burma are held in three stages. The first round took place on December 28, 2025, the following ones on January 11 and 25, 2026. Due to the intensity of the civil war, voting cannot happen in all constituencies.
The latest data shows that of the 330 municipalities, only a fraction will likely be a part of the electoral process, as many areas are either in lively conflict or outside military control.
The military-led Union Election Commission has registered dozens of rival parties, but most of them are small or closely linked to the junta.
The pro-military Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP), a celebration previously related to military rule before democratic reforms, is widely expected to achieve many seats.
The structure drafted by the military in 2008 also ensures that 1 / 4 of all parliamentary seats are reserved for appointed military officers, guaranteeing the armed forces a dominant role whatever the results of the favored vote.
Doubts and criticism
Despite the formal return to electoral politics, many observers and critics view this process with deep skepticism. Human rights groups, international observers and opposition activists argue that the conditions under which the elections are held fall far wanting being free and fair.
Key opposition parties, including the NLD and its distinguished leader Aung San Suu Kyi, are banned from participating; Suu Kyi stays in prison on charges widely seen as politically motivated.
Several other parties have been dissolved, and strict latest laws criminalize criticism of the electoral process, threatening severe penalties for many who oppose it.
