Myanmar’s military government on Monday announced that national elections will begin on December 28, setting a date for a vote that critics say is designed to entrench military rule rather than restore democracy, even as much of the country remains mired in armed conflict.
The Union Election Commission said polling will be held in phases across the country’s 330 townships, though it has not released a detailed schedule. Nearly 60 political parties have registered, including the military-backed Union Solidarity and Development Party.
But questions loom over how the junta can stage a nationwide vote when large swaths of territory are controlled not by the state but by pro-democracy militias and ethnic armed groups. Civil war has fractured the country since the army seized power in February 2021, toppling the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi just as she was set to begin a second term.
The military has billed the long-delayed election as a step toward stability. For many in Myanmar, however, it is seen as a performance meant to legitimize its grip on power. Opposition forces — including armed resistance groups — have pledged to disrupt the vote. A new electoral law passed last month threatens those who obstruct the polls with punishments as severe as the death penalty.
“Elections under military rule cannot be free or fair,” said one opposition activist, speaking anonymously out of fear of reprisal. With most independent media shut down, and Suu Kyi herself serving 27 years in prison after convictions widely denounced as politically motivated, few expect the vote to resemble a democratic contest.
Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy, which won a landslide in 2020, has since been dissolved by the junta. The generals justified their coup by alleging election fraud — claims rejected by independent monitors.
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Meanwhile, the military has escalated its campaign to regain territory ahead of the polls, with both ground offensives and intensified airstrikes. Civilian casualties have mounted. On Sunday, local media reported at least 24 people killed after bombs struck a hospital in Mawchi, a mining town in Kayah State. Days earlier, another airstrike on Mogok, Myanmar’s gem-mining hub, killed at least 21 people, including a pregnant woman.
The army has not confirmed either attack. In similar cases, it has insisted that its strikes targeted “terrorists,” the label it applies to resistance fighters.
With less than half the country under its control, the junta faces steep obstacles to organizing the election. Yet analysts say the generals are determined to press forward, viewing the vote as a crucial step in cementing their authority — even if much of Myanmar and the world see it as little more than theater.