Sham Election by the Myanmar Military Junta

A Pre-Election Report by Mizzima – 8 December 2025

1. Background

Rejecting the results of the 2020 General Election over allegations of electoral fraud, the Myanmar military, also known as Tatmadaw, seized power on February 1, 2021. One day after the military coup, the State Administration Council (SAC) was created under the leadership of Senior General Min Aung Hlaing. They claimed that, after implementing measures under the state of emergency, they would hold a free and fair general election per the 2008 Constitution and transfer power to the winning party.

After the coup, the junta filed numerous charges and handed down long-term prison sentences to several people who opposed them, including Union, State, and Regional government officials, civilian political leaders, and responsible personnel from various levels of the Election Commission. Although some were later released under amnesty, most remain in long-term imprisonment. Over nearly five years since the military coup, the junta has declared amnesty 18 times, releasing 112,926 prisoners. Of these, 15,444 were political prisoners, accounting for just 13.7% of all releases.

Despite nationwide resistance against the military junta during the coup period, they repeatedly promised to hold a new election. Only after extending the state of emergency six times did they announce that an election would take place in 2025. To limit the participation of political parties with strong public support, the junta introduced a new law, the “Political Parties Registration Law” on January 26, 2023. This law was subsequently amended multiple times.