2025–26 Myanmar general election

For most of its independent history, Myanmar, formerly known as Burma, has been ruled by the Tatmadaw. Initially, under Ne Win and his Burma Socialist Programme Party, followed by a military junta. Myanmar entered a semi-democratic state in the early 2010s, which culminated in the 2015 elections, in which democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi was elected State Counsellor and her party, the National League for Democracy, won a resounding victory. 2020 election performance Min Aung Hlaing openly questioned the validity of the 2020 election on the eve of the November election. After casting his ballot, he vowed to accept the election results. The Tatmadaw (military)-backed Union Solidarity and Development Party lost more seats in both chambers of the national legislature against the NLD, which won another landslide victory in the 2020 general elections. Election results were regarded as credible by both domestic and foreign observers, who found no significant anomalies. Nonetheless, the military claimed the vote was fraudulent, citing 8.6 million irregularities in voter lists. Unable to support the military's claims, the Union Election Commission dismissed the military's fraud accusations on 28 January 2021. Aung San Suu Kyi received a number of frivolous charges, including breaching emergency COVID-19 laws, illegally importing and using walkie-talkies, violating the National Disaster Law, violating communications laws, inciting public unrest, and violating the official secrets act. On 6 December 2021, she was sentenced to four years in prison, but Min Aung Hlaing commuted her sentence to two years. Her conviction complicates her ability to hold public office. On 1 August 2021, Min Aung Hlaing formed a caretaker government, and declared himself Prime Minister, whilst remaining the Chairman of the SAC. The Tatmadaw originally promised to hold the elections when the state of emergency expired on 1 February 2022, but pushed back the elections first to 2023, and then delayed them indefinitely. Dissolution of the NLD On 21 May 2021, the junta-appointed Union Election Commission announced plans to permanently dissolve the National League for Democracy. NLD offices were occupied and raided by police authorities, starting on 2 February. Documents, computers and laptops were forcibly seized, and the NLD called these raids unlawful. Aung San Suu Kyi has commented on the possibility of her party's forced dissolution saying, "Our party grew out of the people so it will exist as long as people support it." In January 2022, the junta reversed its plan to dissolve the NLD, with spokesman Zaw Min Tun saying that the NLD will decide whether to stand in the 2023 election. In February 2023, the NLD announced it would not re-register as a political party under a strict new electoral law enacted by the junta the previous month. The electoral commission automatically disbanded NLD, along with 39 other parties, on 28 March 2023. ==Electoral system==

Prior to now, Myanmar only used the first-past-the-post system, which allows a candidate to win an election with a plurality of votes in a constituency. During a press conference in Naypyidaw, on 16 June 2022, Khin Maung Oo, a member of the Union Election Commission, announced that the nation would switch to a proportional representation system for the upcoming election. Existing system In the existing system, the national legislature, the Pyidaungsu Hluttaw, consists of 498 seats elected in single-member constituencies, and 166 seats reserved for military appointees. The Pyithu Hluttaw is elected every five years. It is the lower house. It has 440 MPs, 330 of which are elected in single-member constituencies, one for each township. A further 110 members (one quarter) are appointed by the Tatmadaw. The Amyotha Hluttaw is elected every five years. It is the upper house. It has 224 MPs, 168 of which are elected in single-member constituencies, 12 in each state or region. A further 56 members (one quarter) are appointed by the Tatmadaw. In Myanmar, it is not uncommon for elections to be cancelled partially or completely in some constituencies due to insurrection. Following the inauguration of the new lawmakers, the President and the two Vice-Presidents of Myanmar are chosen by the Presidential Electoral College, which is composed of MPs from three committees: one consisting of elected members from each house of the Pyidaungsu Hluttaw and one consisting of members appointed by the military. After one candidate has been recommended by each committee, the Assembly votes. Depending on their total number of votes, the candidates are elected to the following positions: President, First Vice-President, and Second Vice-President. Under Article 59(f) of the 2008 Constitution, individuals are disqualified from the presidency if they, their parents, spouse, or children "owe allegiance to a foreign power." As Aung San Suu Kyi’s late husband and two children are British citizens, this provision rendered her ineligible for the office. Critics and members of the National League for Democracy (NLD) have characterized this clause as a specific measure designed by the former military junta to prevent her from holding the presidency. Following the NLD's victory in the 2015 Myanmar general election, the party created the post of State Counsellor of Myanmar for Aung San Suu Kyi, allowing her to function as the de facto head of government. During this period, President Win Myint (and his predecessor Htin Kyaw) maintained a close working relationship with Aung San Suu Kyi; while constitutional authority rested with the President, it was widely acknowledged by observers and the NLD itself that Aung San Suu Kyi exercised primary leadership over the executive branch. Revisions to the existing system In December 2021, the junta-appointed Union Electoral Commission convened with 60 political parties on the electoral system. The cohort determined that it would be advisable to switch to a system of party-list proportional representation (PR). The largest remainder method will be used, and the lists will be closed, although there may be a switch to open lists "when the level of education of the electorate and the political tide rises". The townships will be merged into districts for constituencies. Observers and anti-junta factions have criticised the change in the electoral system as politically motivated, aimed at increasing the junta's electoral performance. In 2014, the Amyotha Hluttaw had previously approved a switch to the PR system, but it was not pursued further by the Pyithu Hluttaw for being "unconstitutional." ==Conduct==

The election is expected by independent analysts and foreign bodies, including those at the United Nations, Human Rights Watch, and the US State Department, to be neither free nor fair, and rather a sham process intended to legitimise further military rule. The Union Election Commission (UEC) organises and oversees in Myanmar. During the 2021 coup, Hla Thein, the civilian-appointed UEC chair, was arrested by military authorities and subsequently sentenced to prison. The military junta replaced him with Thein Soe, a former military general who had previously overseen the 2010 Myanmar general election. Some have expressed concerns about the Tatmadaw's willingness to hold free and fair elections. Although the past three elections in Myanmar have been semi-free, there have been concerns over such things as irregularities in voter lists, misinformation, fake news, and the vilification of Burmese Muslims. In addition, under the military-designed 2008 Constitution, the military is effectively guaranteed one vice presidency, and a quarter of the seats in both chambers of the Pyidaungsu Hluttaw, veto power over voter-elected legislators, as well as a third of the seats in all state and regional Hluttaws, and key ministries. Some members of the NLD dominated Pyidaungsu Hluttaw elected in 2020 have formed an anti-cabinet known as the National Unity Government of Myanmar. The NUG claims to be the legitimate government of Myanmar, and the junta and the NUG consider each other terrorist groups. The coup has since escalated into a Myanmar civil war (2021–present) between the Armed Forces, and the NUG's People's Defence Force and ethnic armed organisations (EAOs), resulting in thousands of military and civilian casualties, and the displacement of an additional 1.7 million people . This, along with ongoing ethnic conflicts, means the vote will likely be cancelled in some constituencies, and may not be secure in others. The planned election may trigger an escalation in violence, due to widespread public opposition. More than 4,800 candidates are competing for seats in the national and regional legislatures. At least six of the likely USDP candidates are currently-serving Tatmadaw lieutenant-generals. On 26 November 2025, 8,865 people were pardoned or had their sentence commuted by the junta; 3,085 of which were convicted under the Section 505A "fake news" penal code. According to junta spokesperson, Zaw Min Tun, these commutations would allow eligible voters to participate "freely and fairly." The conduct in Karenni State of the election has reportedly been restless and seen forced voting. == Timing ==

The Constitution requires that elections be held within six months of the end of a declared state of emergency, which the military has extended repeatedly since the 2021 coup. The census began as scheduled on 1 October. On 26 March, state media reported that at a meeting of the State Administration Council, Min Aung Hlaing set a plan for the election to be held either in the last two weeks of December or in the first two weeks of January. On 27 March, in a speech for Armed Forces Day, Min Aung Hlaing appeared to narrow the date to December. Despite the highly destabilising 2025 Myanmar earthquake that occurred the next day, Min Aung Hlaing said on 3 April that the timeline for the election would not change. In addition to ongoing security concerns, the election date may have also been delayed to forestall infighting within the Burmese military leadership around succession planning. It remains unclear if Min Aung Hlaing will remain commander-in-chief or seek the presidency, and whether he can appoint a loyal candidate to either role, since the Constitution does not permit him to assume both. On 11 September 2025, an official from the UEC announced that the results will be announced by the end of January 2026. Phase 1 On 20 August, the UEC announced designated phase one constitutuencies consisting of 102 townships to be held on 28 December. 121 constituencies, including 56 townships will be excluded. Phase 2 On 28 October, the UEC announced designated phase two constitutuencies consisting of 100 townships to be held on 11 January 2026. Phase 3 On 25 December, the 63 constituencies of phase 3, to be held on 25 January 2026, were announced. ==Political parties==

The table below lists parties that managed to elect representatives to the Pyidaungsu Hluttaw in 2020 that have registered to contest the next election. Fifty-seven parties registered for participation in the election. Eight of those parties will compete nationally while the rest will compete regionally. Nationally competing parties include the People's Pioneer Party, the National Unity Party, the Myanmar Farmers Development Party, the People's Party, the Shan and Ethnic Democratic Party, the Women’s Party (Mon), and the Democratic Party of National Politics. == Results ==

Amyotha Hluttaw By State and Region (proportional seats) By constituencies Pyithu Hluttaw Pyithu Hluttaw results for the first phase were released in portions from January 2 to January 4, 2026. Agence-France Presse called the first phase for the USDP, with 89 out of 102 (87%) of the first-phase seats won. Results for 14 additional constituencies were also announced in the first set of results, for a total of 116 constituencies declared, of which the USDP won 102. Many USDP candidates, especially in Naypyidaw Union Territory, were powerful retired military officers, including Tin Aung San, Khin Maung Myint, USDP deputy leader Myat Hein, Maung Maung Ohn, USDP leader Khin Yi, and Hla Swe, as well as Mya Tun Oo in Mandalay Region. By constituencies == Reactions ==

In March 2023, the governments of the United States, European Union, United Kingdom, Japan, France, Germany, and Australia strongly condemned the military junta's dissolution of the NLD and other political parties. The US and Germany stated they expect the election will not be free and fair. The German government posited that the junta's moves threaten to escalate violence in the country, and further destabilise the country. Australia's Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade characterised the junta's moves as a "further narrowing of political space in Myanmar." The European Union reiterated its support for ASEAN's Five-Point Consensus. ASEAN also declared that it did not recognise the elections. ==Notes==