Myanmar will hold the first phase of long-delayed general elections on December 28, state television announced Monday, unveiling a roadmap for polls already dismissed by critics as a military effort to cement power.
According to the Union Election Commission, subsequent phases will take place through December and January, with exact dates yet to be disclosed. Authorities said the staggered schedule was necessary due to security concerns in the war-torn country.
The polls would be Myanmar’s first since the 2021 coup, when military chief Min Aung Hlaing ousted the elected civilian government led by Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi. The coup sparked a nationwide uprising, with resistance from ethnic armed groups and pro-democracy militias plunging the country into civil conflict.
State media reported that 55 political parties have been registered to contest, with nine cleared to compete nationwide. Six more are under review for approval. However, opposition groups allied with the ousted civilian administration have been banned or have pledged to boycott the election, leading Western governments and rights groups to dismiss the exercise as a sham.
The interim military-backed administration has said voting will be held in more than 300 constituencies, including in contested areas controlled by anti-junta forces. But last year’s nationwide census, intended to prepare voter rolls, only covered 145 of Myanmar’s 330 townships due to insecurity, raising doubts about the credibility of the electoral process.
The military has defended the 2021 coup as a response to alleged fraud in the 2020 election, which Suu Kyi’s party had won by a landslide. International observers, however, found no evidence of irregularities that would have changed the outcome.
Analysts say the December vote is unlikely to resolve Myanmar’s political crisis. Instead, it risks further entrenching military rule while deepening the divide between the junta and opposition groups that continue to wage armed resistance across the country.
Written By Rodney Mbua
