Myanmar’s military regime has announced that the first phase of long-delayed general elections will be held on December 28, in a move widely viewed as an attempt to secure legitimacy following its 2021 coup.
State-run media confirmed on Monday that the polls will take place in three stages, with the subsequent phases expected in January, though exact dates remain unspecified due to what officials described as “security concerns.”
The junta plans to hold voting in over 300 constituencies nationwide, including contested areas currently under the control of resistance forces.
However, with vast swathes of the country engulfed in armed conflict, analysts warn that organizing such an election may prove both logistically and politically untenable.
Since the coup, Myanmar has been plunged into a brutal civil war that has claimed thousands of lives, displaced millions, and shows no sign of abating.
Opposition groups, meanwhile, have denounced the planned election as a “sham” designed to entrench military power.
The National League for Democracy (NLD) — led by ousted civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi — has been officially banned from participating, while several other parties and civil society groups have pledged to boycott the polls entirely, further undermining the vote’s credibility in the eyes of both domestic and international observers.
