Yangon: Myanmar initiated voting on Sunday, December 28, 2025, in a general election clouded by ongoing civil war, mounting humanitarian distress, and sharp criticism from international observers who say the poll lacks credibility and competitive fairness.
This election marks the first nationwide vote since the military coup of February 2021, when Myanmar’s armed forces toppled the civilian government led by Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi. The National League for Democracy (NLD), her former party that had overwhelmingly won the last poll in 2020, remains dissolved and barred from contesting. Aung San Suu Kyi herself is still detained under the junta’s authority.
Voting opened across several urban centres including Yangon and Mandalay, with long lines of citizens trickling into polls at dawn despite low enthusiasm. Voters dipped their fingers in ink after casting ballots, a symbolic ritual designed to prevent duplicate voting as security forces maintained a heavy presence at stations.
Election authorities say this phase will be followed by two more rounds on January 11 and January 25, collectively covering 265 of the country’s 330 administrative townships. However, the junta’s control does not extend fully into all these regions, as armed resistance groups and ethnic militias hold ground in large swaths of territory.
The Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP) aligned closely with the junta and led by retired generals is widely seen as the frontrunner in the tightly managed election. Analysts warn that the USDP’s dominance, compounded by the absence of meaningful opposition, virtually ensures continued military sway over Myanmar’s political future.
Lalita Hanwong, a Southeast Asia specialist at Thailand’s Kasetsart University, said the structure of the election appears engineered to extend military influence rather than foster genuine democratic governance. “This is designed to prolong the military’s power over the people,” she told Reuters analysts.
Senior General Min Aung Hlaing, Myanmar’s powerful military commander who has served as the country’s de-facto leader since the coup, cast his vote in the guarded capital of Naypyitaw, later waving his inked finger in staged media images. Pressed about his own presidential ambitions, Min insisted he did not lead any political party and reiterated that the legislature, not the military chief, would elect the next president.
The military government has pitched the vote as a necessary step toward national unity and economic revival, touting technological innovations such as the rollout of more than 50,000 electronic voting machines intended to streamline the process and enhance transparency. It has also invited observers from countries including China, Russia, India and Cambodia.
Despite the junta’s rhetoric about stability, conditions on the ground paint a grim picture. The civil war, triggered by the brutal suppression of mass protests in 2021, has escalated into one of Asia’s most severe humanitarian crises, displacing millions and leaving vast swaths of the country devastated. According to United Nations estimates, over 20 million of Myanmar’s 51 million population now require urgent aid, with more than 12 million at risk of acute hunger in 2026.
The United Nations, Western governments, and human rights advocates have rejected the election as neither free nor fair, warning that the poll could entrench military rule rather than chart a peaceful democratic transition. Many opposition groups have either been banned or chosen to boycott the process.
UN human rights officials have also highlighted that the vote is taking place amid ongoing air strikes, intense ground battles, and a pervasive atmosphere of fear and repression. Civilians in several conflict zones have had little to no access to polling facilities, further calling into question the inclusivity of the exercise.
While the junta insists the election represents a fresh political start for the impoverished nation, analysts argue that the result will likely mirror the realities of military dominance rather than reflect the expressed will of a free electorate.
With daily life strained by conflict, economic hardship, and humanitarian emergencies, many ordinary citizens remain ambivalent or resigned to the unfolding political process. The final results and whether they bring any genuine change may take weeks to emerge and are set to shape Myanmar’s fractured trajectory for years ahead.