Myanmar’s ruling military junta said Monday (August 18, 2025) that the country’s election will start on December 28, beginning a phased poll being boycotted by opposition groups and criticised by international monitors.

“The first phase of the multi-party democratic general election for each parliament will begin on Sunday 28 December 2025,” Myanmar’s Union Election Commission said in a statement.

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“Dates for the subsequent phases will be announced later.”

Myanmar has been consumed by a civil war since the military deposed the government of democratic leader Aung San Suu Kyi in 2021, making unsubstantiated allegations of electoral fraud.

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Swathes of the country are beyond the control of the military — administered by a myriad of pro-democracy guerrillas and powerful ethnic armed organisations which have pledged to block polls in their enclaves.

The junta has touted elections as a way to end the conflict, however Ms. Suu Kyi remains jailed and a U.N. expert branded the vote a “fraud” designed to rebrand continuing military rule.