Four years after seizing power from an elected government, Myanmar's military leader has announced that inclusive elections will be held within 10 months, according to state media.
Senior General Min Aung Hlaing said elections are planned for December or January 2026, the Global New Light of Myanmar newspaper reported.
He announced these dates at a press conference during an official visit to Belarus, one of the few allies of Myanmar's military government, noting that 53 political parties have already submitted their lists for participation in the elections.
However, General Min Aung did not specify the exact dates for the vote.
The announcement comes amid Myanmar's civil war, which has seen the army forced onto a defensive strategy against pro-democracy militants and ethnic militias seeking autonomy across much of the country.
The February 2021 coup ousted the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi and sparked widespread popular discontent, leading to armed resistance and conflict across large parts of the country.
Since then, the ruling military forces have said that their main goal is elections, but the timing of these has already been postponed several times.
The planned general elections are seen as an attempt to legitimize the military's takeover through the vote and to achieve an outcome that will ensure the generals retain control.
Critics have already said the military-organised elections will be neither free nor fair, as there is no independent media in the country and most of the leaders of Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy party have been detained.
Suu Kyi, 79, is serving a 27-year prison sentence after being found guilty in a series of politically motivated trials launched by the military.
The current security situation in the country poses serious challenges to organizing the elections, as the military is believed to control less than half of Myanmar's territory.
Earlier, the military leadership announced that elections would be held primarily in those areas under their control.
In October, the military attempted to conduct a census that it said would compile voter lists for a comprehensive election, but data was collected from only 145 of 330 towns.
In a published report, the military said areas where the census had not been completed included towns controlled by ethnic armed groups and pro-democracy guerrillas.
The Government of National Unity (GNU), Myanmar's main opposition force, has said it intends to prevent the military-organized elections from being held through non-violent means.
Sourse: breakingnews.ie
