Almost five years after the military coup in Myanmar, the junta is electing a new parliament for the first time in the crisis country.
December 28, 2025, 06:34December 28, 2025, 06:34
International observers and human rights activists described the controversial vote as a “farce” in advance. The election is to be held in three phases: After Sunday, two further dates are planned on January 11th and 25th. It is still unclear when the results will be known – but probably at the end of January.
People in front of an election office in Naypyitaw.Image: keystone
The army staged a coup on February 1, 2021 and removed the democratically elected de facto head of government Aung San Suu Kyi from power. The originally promised elections were repeatedly postponed under the pretext that the violence in the country did not allow them.
Winner already foreseeable
Meanwhile, it is already certain in advance that the military-backed Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP) will clearly win. Most of the voting takes place in electoral districts where the junta has control. According to estimates, resistance groups and rebels now control more than 50 percent of the country. Due to ongoing fighting, it is not possible to hold an election in many parts of the country.
However, both China and Russia, the main suppliers of aircraft and weapons to the junta, support the elections. Both countries pursue economic interests in Myanmar. China also provided extensive technical assistance in advance of the vote.
Citizens would like to boycott
Most citizens, on the other hand, would like to boycott the vote, but are essentially forced to vote. “The local government has asked us to vote and wants to check the voter lists street by street – so we can’t avoid it,” said Sein Htay (37) from the largest city Yangon (formerly Rangoon).
Normally, most people would have cast an invalid ballot, he emphasized. But that is not possible this time because the ballot papers are processed by machine and it is immediately displayed who voted and whether a ballot paper is valid or not. “Electronic voting allows the military to manipulate the election results at will,” a political observer told Radio Free Asia.
Junta wants to legitimize its power
Critics are convinced that the generals around their boss Min Aung Hlaing simply wanted to legitimize their power through the vote. “The military junta’s sham elections in Myanmar are a desperate attempt to gain international legitimacy after nearly five years of brutal military repression,” said Elaine Pearson, Asia director at Human Rights Watch. Governments that gave the election any credibility signaled a complete lack of interest in civil democracy in Myanmar.
Min Aung Hlaing is trying to establish a dictatorship in Myanmar.Image: keystone
At the same time, the junta has introduced stricter electoral laws that make it harder for opposition parties to register and bar individuals as candidates. The electoral system was changed in such a way that it clearly benefits the military-affiliated party. Dozens of citizens who criticized the upcoming vote on social networks were arrested. According to the newspaper “The Irrawaddy,” almost 90 critics were imprisoned by the beginning of November alone.
The background
The generals justified their overthrow at the beginning of 2021 with alleged fraud in the election in November 2020, which Nobel Peace Prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi and her National League for Democracy (NLD) party won by a large margin. They didn’t provide any evidence. Since then, the former Burma has descended into chaos and violence. The junta is trying to suppress popular resistance with all possible force. The NLD is excluded from the current election, as are all other serious opposition forces.
Suu Kyi’s popularity has long been a thorn in the side of the generals. She was arrested and later sentenced to decades in prison for several alleged crimes. It is unclear where the 80-year-old former freedom icon is being held. The politician has been controversial internationally for a long time – especially because of the state’s discrimination against the Rohingya ethnic group and her silence on the systematic violence against the Muslim minority.
“A way out for the junta, not for Myanmar”
It is questionable whether the dramatic situation for large parts of the population in Myanmar will change after the election. Since the coup, the junta has deliberately dismantled the rule of law and the country’s young democratic structures and has even intensified repression and violence in the run-up to the elections, Human Rights Watch emphasized. A political analyst in Yangon told the German Press Agency: “The election is intended as a way out for the junta – but not for Myanmar.” (sda/dpa)