SUNDAY POLLS BRING HOPES TO MYANMAR, GOVT SAYS ON ELECTION EVE 

By Vijian Paramasivam

PHNOM PENH, Dec 27 (Bernama) -- Myanmar kicks off its three-phase general elections on Sunday, with the government promising it will mark a “turning a new page for Myanmar”. 

The military-led government, headed by the State Security and Peace Commission Chairman Senior General Min Aung Hlaing, is holding the multiparty general elections almost five years after the nation last went to the polls.

“The upcoming elections have certainly brought hope and energy to people who have suffered for too long under ongoing conflicts. 

“An election that strives for popular participation should be cherished, not condemned,” state media The Global New Light of Myanmar said in a two-page article on the eve of the elections. 

The Union Election Commission announced on Friday that Phase 1 will be held on December 28 in 102 townships, followed by Phase 2 on January 11, 2026, in 100 townships.

Phase 3 of the election will take place on January 25, 2026, in 63 townships across the respective regions and states, the commission said on its website. 

On Friday, the government said it would lift the curfew in 44 townships in the Yangon Region, effective morning December 27, due to improved stability and security. 

Several international observers from Belarus, China, India, Kazakhstan, Vietnam and Russia have arrived in Yangon to monitor the elections, while foreign political observers have criticised the government for not holding fair and transparent polls. 

The military came into power on February 1, 2021, after the 2020 elections which was won by Aung San Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy.

More than 5,000 candidates from 57 political parties will contest for about 950 seats in three legislatures – the Pyithu Hluttaw (Lower House), Amyotha Hluttaw (Upper House), and State and Region Hluttaws (Parliament), according to state media. 

During the elections, voters will be casting their votes using electronic voting machines to curb vote-counting irregularities and practice electoral transparency.

“For the first time in twenty years, women candidates have reached the highest percentage ever – 18 per cent of total registered candidates,” said the state media. 

The military government is holding the elections against the backdrop of a raging civil war in parts of Myanmar that has left thousands homeless and severely damaged the economy over the past five years

--  BERNAMA