Myanmar Military Promises Elections by January 2026

Naypyidaw, Mar 8 (NationPress) Myanmar's Prime Minister Min Aung Hlaing, during his trip to Belarus, disclosed that the country is set to conduct elections by December 2025 or January 2026 at the latest, according to state media reports on Saturday.

"In light of the electoral fraud during the 2020 general election, we were compelled to declare a state of emergency and assume temporary governance. Therefore, we intend to organize a free and fair election soon, in accordance with the law," Hlaing stated to reporters in Belarus, as reported by Global New Light of Myanmar.

"We are targeting a December 2025 election or, at the earliest, January 2026. A total of 53 political parties have already registered to participate in the election. We also extend an invitation to observation teams from Belarus to monitor the process," Hlaing further elaborated.

Last month, during a cabinet assembly, Hlaing remarked that political parties could initiate their campaigns only when peace and stability are restored in the region. He acknowledged that the regime has lost significant territories in northern Shan State, Rakhine, Kachin, Kayah (Karenni), Karen, Chin states, and central Myanmar to rebel factions. Additionally, airstrikes have been carried out in 13 regions and states, excluding the Yangon Region.

Despite this, the military junta's election commitments have faced both domestic and international backlash. The election promises are perceived as a facade aimed at solidifying a military regime that ousted an elected government, reported local media outlet The Irrawaddy.

Myanmar's military seized control in a coup on February 1, 2021, after dismissing the results of the November 2020 elections as invalid. The country’s former leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, has been detained in an undisclosed location since then, facing trials in a closed court with no observer access.

It is estimated that over 10,000 political prisoners have been incarcerated by the military junta, with at least 175 fatalities reported in custody, according to the United Nations human rights office.

In 2021, Tom Andrews, the UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Myanmar, indicated that the junta's arrest and sentencing of Aung San Suu Kyi and thousands of others exemplifies the ongoing assault on the civil and political rights of the people in Myanmar.

As the fourth anniversary of the military coup in Myanmar was marked last month, human rights advocates lamented the loss of countless innocent lives at the hands of a ruthless military regime, asserting that the nation remains under siege.

"The junta’s strategies, including the organization of sham elections amidst escalating armed conflict and human rights violations, are a pathway to disaster," Andrews concluded.