Myanmar's military leader announces dates for general election

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BANGKOK (AP) — Four years after seizing power from the elected administration, the head of the military government declared Myanmar will hold a general election within 10 months, state-run media reported Saturday.

Senior Gen. Min Aung Hlaing said Friday the election will take place either in December or January 2026 at the latest, according to the Global New Light of Myanmar newspaper. He announced the dates in a press conference while on an official visit to Belarus, one of the few allies of Myanmar’s military government, saying that 53 political parties have already submitted their lists to participate in the election.

However, Min Aung did not mention exact election dates.

The announcement comes as Myanmar is roiled by a civil war in which the army has been forced onto the defensive against pro-democracy militants as well as ethnic militias seeking autonomy in much of the country.

The army takeover from Aung San Suu Kyi’s elected government in February 2021 has been met with widespread popular opposition, triggering armed resistances, and large parts of the country are embroiled in conflict. The ruling military has since said an election was the primary goal but has repeatedly pushed back the date.

The plan for a general election is widely seen as an attempt to normalize the military’s seizure of power through the ballot box and to deliver a result that ensures the generals retain control.

Critics have already said the military-planned election will be neither free nor fair because there is no free media and most of the leaders of Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy party have been arrested. Suu Kyi, 79, is serving prison sentences totaling 27 years after being convicted in a series of politically tainted prosecutions brought by the military.

The country’s current security situation poses a serious challenge to holding elections, with the military believed to control less than half the country. The military government had previously said the election would be prioritized in areas under its command.

In October, the military attempted a census that it said was to compile voter lists for a general election, but data from only 145 of 330 townships was successfully gathered. In a published report, the military government said the areas where the census could not be completed included towns controlled by ethnic armed forces and pro-democracy guerrillas.

The National Unity Government or NUG, Myanmar's main opposition organization, said it intended to prevent the military-held election through nonviolent means.