Myanmar military announces election date amid ongoing conflict, sparking international concerns over legitimacy and a humanitarian crisis.
Myanmar’s military government has announced plans to hold a general election in December 2025 or January 2026, marking the first time the junta has set a concrete timeline for the long-delayed polls.
However, the international community has reacted with scepticism, warning that such an election—organised under military rule—may lack credibility and serve only to entrench the junta’s power.
With ongoing conflict, mass displacement, and widespread repression, global leaders and human rights organizations are calling for stronger international intervention to prevent further deterioration of Myanmar’s political and humanitarian situation.
Since the military seized power in a coup on February 1, 2021, Myanmar has been engulfed in violence and chaos. The junta has carried out a brutal crackdown on dissent, engaging in mass killings, arbitrary arrests, torture, and sexual violence—acts widely recognized as crimes against humanity. Basic freedoms, including speech and assembly, have been systematically dismantled, leaving the population in fear and uncertainty.
According to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), more than 19.9 million people—over a third of Myanmar’s population—require urgent assistance, an increase of over 1 million compared to the previous year. Yet, the military has actively obstructed humanitarian aid, preventing life-saving supplies from reaching those in need. In 2024, only 34% of the required funding for relief efforts was met, leaving millions without food, medical care, and basic necessities.
Since Myanmar’s military coup, many armed groups joined the fight against the government, supporting the opposition National Unity Government. In order to hold on to power, the military junta used airstrikes on civilians in conflict-ridden regions like southeast Myanmar and Rakhine State, allegedly killing scores of civilians.
Rakhine State has been witnessing intense violence since late 2023, making it even harder for the Rohingya people, who are living in camps in Bangladesh, to return.
In 2024, nearly 500 Rohingya refugees attempted perilous journeys by sea to neighbouring countries such as Malaysia and Indonesia, with many perishing along the way.
In response to the worsening crisis, the international community is under growing pressure to take decisive action. While the United Nations and other global bodies have repeatedly condemned the junta’s actions, Myanmar’s military remains defiant, resisting calls for accountability and blocking humanitarian assistance.
ASEAN and other regional actors have urged stronger intervention, but diplomatic efforts have largely failed to curb the junta’s atrocities.
As Myanmar approaches its proposed election timeline, the global community faces a critical moment. “Myanmar’s spiralling crisis is being further exacerbated by severe underfunding of humanitarian operations, leaving millions without critical support,” says a United Nations report of early this year. Humanitarians estimate that nearly 20 million people – more than a third of the total population – will require assistance this year. Among them, 6.3 million children and 7.1 million women, adds the report.
