Myanmar’s military junta announced on Monday that long-delayed elections will begin at the end of the year, despite widespread skepticism at home and abroad about their legitimacy.
According to the election commission, “the first phase of the democratic multi-party election for each parliament will begin on Sunday, December 28, 2025.” Dates for subsequent phases will be disclosed later.
Opposition forces have declared they will boycott the vote, calling it a sham designed to cement the junta’s hold on power. Many international observers share this view, predicting that Senior General Min Aung Hlaing, who led the 2021 coup, will maintain a dominant role—whether as president or as commander of the armed forces.
UN Special Rapporteur on Myanmar Tom Andrews accused the generals earlier this year of creating “the illusion of an election,” arguing that no vote can be free while opponents are jailed, tortured, or executed, and independent journalism is silenced.
The February 2021 coup toppled the elected government of Nobel Peace Prize laureate Aung San Suu Kyi, plunging the country into a civil war that has killed thousands. The junta imposed a state of emergency, repeatedly extending it until it was lifted in July—officially to clear the way for elections.
But large swaths of Myanmar remain beyond military control. A government census last year failed to reach 19 million of the country’s 51 million people, citing “serious security restrictions.”
Analysts warn that instead of restoring democracy, the planned vote may serve primarily to grant the junta a thin veneer of legitimacy, leaving the country’s deep political and humanitarian crisis unresolved.
