Myanmar is going through a bloody civil war with multiple ethnic communities seeking federative autonomy. Most of the ethnic rebels have captured nearly 70 to 90 per cent of the ethnic territories from the brutal military regime of Myanmar.

A total of 54 political parties have registered to contest the elections, with only 10 planning to field candidates nationwide.

The Myanmar Union Election Commission (UEC) plans to hold general elections in 267 out of the country’s total 330 constituencies. There were 330 constituencies for the Lower House, 168 constituencies for the Upper House, 644 constituencies for state and regional parliaments, as well as 29 constituencies for ethnic minorities in these parliaments during the 2020 general elections.

However, military regime General Min Aung Hlaing had announced that the elections would begin in December but has not provided the UEC with a specific date of election, the number of constituencies, candidates’ criteria, or the exact timeline of when the elections will take place. The UEC stated that the elections would be conducted in phases, with specific dates designated for each stage.

A total of 54 political parties have registered to contest the elections, with only 10,  including the pro-regime Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP), planning to field candidates nationwide in all constituencies, according to the UEC. It added that the electronic voting machines being used for this election will operate on a “simple and secure” microcontroller system without relying on an operating system or wireless connectivity such as the internet, Wi-Fi, or Bluetooth.

Junta chief Min Aung Hlaing has amended the Union Election Commission Law, which allows government staff to chair all of Myanmar’s election bodies ahead of voting due in December or later. Many government departments are led by ex-military officers who are likely to dominate the election sub-commissions down to the village level. It means regime staff will have control over all levels of the electoral process.

The UEC plans to hold elections in 267 out of 330 constituencies, including 30 located in active conflict zones.

Democratic Voice of Burma (DVB), an anti-establishment news portal working in exile, wrote that the regime in the capital Naypyidaw ‘slashes’ the election commission’s budget by one-fourth. The state has approved only one-fourth of the budget proposed by the UEC.

A total of 54 political parties have registered to contest the elections, with only 10,  including the pro-regime Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP), planning to field candidates nationwide in all constituencies, according to the UEC. The ousted National League for Democracy (NLD) party, led by Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi, won the 2015 and 2020 elections by a landslide. The UEC has dissolved 39 other parties in 2023.

The military ousted the democratically elected NLD government and jailed its leader, State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi, and President Win Myint, over allegations of voter fraud following a landslide victory for the NLD in the 2020 general elections. The source added that 30 out of 267 townships where the UEC plans to set up polls in the elections are reportedly active conflict zones. Meanwhile, the pro-Suu Kyi National Unity Government (NUG) calls on the United States to reject regime-planned elections.

The NUG position is that Myanmar is a “failed state” and would pose a serious problem for the U.S., and that ensuring it returns to democracy is Washington’s strategic interest. The UEC decided that electronic voting machines (EVMs) would be deployed to “prevent electoral fraud” after the regime had amended election laws.

The ousted National League for Democracy (NLD) party, led by Aung San Suu Kyi, has been dissolved and its leaders jailed.

The two political parties are among 10 expected to contest polls nationwide in 267 out of Myanmar’s 330 townships in the regime-planned elections expected to begin in December. A total of 54 political parties have registered to participate in the elections, according to the UEC.

Meanwhile, the outgoing Humanitarian Coordinator Marcoluigi Corsi for the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) released a statement in mid-June which highlights Myanmar’s worsening humanitarian crisis caused by ongoing ethnic conflicts, natural disasters, economic collapse, and recent earthquake which devasted central Myanmar and warned its resilience is wavering.

The dangerously low funding for response efforts in Myanmar remains OCHA’s greatest challenge. Of the US$275 million requested for the earthquakes, only $100 million (36 per cent) has so far been disbursed. More concerning, almost halfway into the year, the 2025 Humanitarian Needs and Response Plan, which guides the countrywide response, is just under 12 per cent funded, with only $134 million of the $1.1 billion requested.

The 2025 Humanitarian Needs and Response Plan is only 12 per cent funded, leaving millions at risk.

A parliamentary election under a military junta will never restore democracy in Myanmar. An election can only be held where all political parties, including NUG, ethnic rebels, and other stakeholders agree to hold an election and the junta moves behind the curtains.

Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the author. They do not represent the views, beliefs, or policies of the Stratheia.