Myanmar, August 18: Myanmar’s military government has announced that long-delayed general elections will begin on December 28, but opposition groups and international observers remain sceptical about whether the polls will be free and fair.
According to state media, the Union Election Commission said the vote will be held in a “step-by-step” process, with further dates for subsequent phases to be announced later. Some 55 political parties have registered so far, including nine with plans to contest seats nationwide.
The announcement comes weeks after military leader Min Aung Hlaing declared an end to emergency rule in parts of the country, framing it as a move toward restoring democracy. Myanmar has been under military control since February 2021, when the armed forces ousted Aung San Suu Kyi’s elected government following claims of election fraud.
The National League for Democracy (NLD), Suu Kyi’s party, has vowed to boycott the elections, calling them a “sham” designed to legitimize the junta’s hold on power. Independent election monitoring groups, including the Asian Network for Free Elections and the Carter Center, previously dismissed the military’s allegations of fraud in the 2020 polls, which the NLD won in a landslide.
Meanwhile, large parts of Myanmar remain outside government control due to a brutal civil war. Rebel groups such as the People’s Defence Force, the Arakan Army, and the Ta’ang National Liberation Army continue to fight the junta, raising questions about how elections can be conducted amid ongoing conflict.
The last national vote in November 2020 was widely recognized by observers as credible, but the results were annulled by the military. Since then, Suu Kyi and dozens of other elected leaders have been jailed, and political freedoms have been severely restricted.
While the junta frames the December elections as a return to democracy, critics argue they are an attempt to consolidate Min Aung Hlaing’s power.