选举采分段进行且无法在反抗军控制区举办：第一阶段涵盖 330 个镇区中的 102 个（约 31%），第二阶段在 1 月 11 日再投 100 个，第三阶段于 1 月 25 日仅 63 个，合计 265 个（约 80%），显示仍有大量地区不在投票范围。部分地区加强封锁与管制，亦出现排队数小时的情况；联合国形容背景为「恐惧、暴力与深度政治压迫」，并提及「数千人」遭拘留，人权高专亦称平民被威胁必须投票。
西方民主国家多名外交官表示不会派观选团；官媒称俄罗斯、中国、白俄罗斯、哈萨克、柬埔寨、越南、尼加拉瓜、印度及缅甸-日本协会等已派团观选。USDP 自信能赢得多数席次并组阁，但学者与反对声音指此举不应成为各国恢复往来的政治遮羞布；在内战造成至多约 90,000 人死亡、约半数人口陷入贫困之际，军政府仍试图以选举换取合法性与投资回流。
Myanmar opened polls on Dec. 28, 2025 in military-controlled areas in its first election since the 2021 coup, an event widely seen as favoring the junta-aligned Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP). The election commission says 57 parties and 4,863 candidates are contesting, while Aung San Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy (NLD)—which won the prior two elections by landslides—has been barred; final results are expected in late January.
Voting is phased and cannot be held in rebel-held areas: phase 1 covers 102 of 330 townships (~31%), phase 2 on Jan. 11 adds 100 more, and the final round on Jan. 25 includes only 63, totaling 265 townships (~80%) and leaving substantial areas outside the vote. Security was tightened with blockades and vehicle restrictions, with reports of waits of about two hours; the UN describes an “atmosphere of fear, violence and deep political repression,” citing thousands detained, and its human rights chief said civilians were threatened to participate.
Several diplomats from Western democracies said they will not send observers, while state media reported observer teams from Russia, China, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Cambodia, Vietnam, Nicaragua, India, and the Myanmar-Japan Association. The USDP says it expects to win a majority and form a government, but critics call the process political theater; with the civil war having killed up to about 90,000 people and roughly half the population living in poverty, the junta is seeking legitimacy, reduced isolation, and renewed investment.
