Myanmar's military government has pressed ahead with the second phase of a controversial general election, extending voting to townships embroiled in the nation's ongoing civil war. The polls, which began on Sunday 11 January 2026, have been denounced by international observers as a sham designed to legitimise the junta's rule.
Voting Under the Shadow of Conflict
Polling stations opened at 6am local time across 100 townships, including areas in conflict-ridden regions such as Sagaing, Magway, and Shan State. This follows a first round held on 28 December 2025 in 102 townships. The election is being conducted in three phases due to widespread armed resistance, with a final round scheduled for 25 January. Notably, 65 townships will not participate at all because of active fighting.
The military government reported that over 6 million people, about 52% of eligible voters, cast ballots in the first phase, claiming a decisive success. However, critics argue the process is fundamentally flawed. Tom Andrews, the UN Special Rapporteur on human rights in Myanmar, urged the international community to reject the "sham election," citing coercion, violence, and systematic political exclusion.
A Political Landscape Stripped of Opposition
The electoral field is heavily skewed in favour of the military. The constitution reserves 25% of parliamentary seats for the army automatically. In the first phase, the military-backed Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP) won nearly 90% of contested seats in the lower house, securing a dominant position.
Genuine opposition has been systematically crushed. Aung San Suu Kyi, the country's 80-year-old former leader, is serving a 27-year prison term on politically motivated charges. Her party, the National League for Democracy, was dissolved in 2023. Other parties have refused to register or are boycotting the polls, while resistance groups have called for a voter boycott.
According to the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners, more than 22,000 people are detained for political offences, and over 7,600 civilians have been killed by security forces since the 2021 coup. A harsh new Election Protection Law has led to more than 330 people being charged for criticising the polls.
International Condemnation and Domestic Reality
Despite vows from armed resistance groups to disrupt the process, no major interference was reported during Sunday's second round. However, the fundamental conditions for a credible vote are absent. "You cannot have a free, fair or credible election when thousands of political prisoners are behind bars, credible opposition parties have been dissolved, journalists are muzzled, and fundamental freedoms are crushed," stated Tom Andrews.
The election's outcome is seen as a foregone conclusion, intended to provide a veneer of legitimacy to the military regime that seized power in February 2021. With the nation deeply divided and locked in civil war, these staged polls do little to address the profound political crisis facing Myanmar.
