NAYPYIDAW: Myanmar’s military government may hold a general election in December 2025 or January 2026, state media said on Mar 8, citing the coup commander, who provided the second specific time frame for the long-promised elections in the war-torn state.
Myanmar has been upheaval since early 2021, when the army ousted an elected civilian state led by Nobel Peace Prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi, triggering a protest movements that morphed into an armed revolt against the coup across the South Eastern country.
The junta head, Senior General Min Aung Hlaing, has vowed to hold an election, but his presidency frequently extended a state of emergency, even as the government is battered by a collection of anti-junta opposition parties.
Critics have frequently derided the promised elections as a sham to preserve the commanders in power through proxy, given that dozens of political parties have been banned and the coup has lost its hand over large parts of Myanmar.
” We plan to hold a free and fair election soon”, Gen Min Aung Hlaing said during a visit to Belarus, where he announced the time frame, the Global New Light of Myanmar newspaper reported.
” Fifty-three political parties have already submitted their lists to participate in the election”, he said.