NAYPYIDAW, Myanmar: An official from Myanmar’s junta-stacked election commission said on Thursday (Sep 11) that the results of its upcoming and widely disputed national poll are expected by the end of January next year.
“The final election result is expected by the end of January 2026,” an official of the Union Election Commission (UEC) told AFP on condition of anonymity.
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.
But the military is now organising an election they have touted as an off-ramp to the bloody conflict, with phased polls due to start on Dec 28 and lasting around a month.
The commission held a news conference on Thursday in the capital Naypyidaw, which lasted more than three hours and neither Suu Kyi nor her National League for Democracy – which won the last polls by a landslide – were mentioned once.
It said six parties would run for seats in the national parliament.
“We have six political parties for nationwide and 51 for regional (assemblies). Altogether, we have 57 parties to contest in elections,” UEC member Khin Maung Oo said.
The vote would be held in three phases, with two weeks between each phase, the UEC said.
Large areas of Myanmar are beyond the control of the military, administered by a myriad of pro-democracy guerrillas and powerful ethnic armed organisations that have pledged to block polls in their enclaves.
“We have about 63 places which have security risks,” Khin Maung Oo said. “However, we will continue working until we can hold (the vote).”
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