Overview
- The first round is set for 28 December with additional rounds on 11 and 25 January, while large conflict-held areas are excluded and the UN says at least 56 townships under martial law will not vote.
- A July election law criminalizing criticism has led to at least 229 charges, including arrests over social media posts and posters, with reports that displaced people are being pressed to vote under threat of losing aid.
- Amnesty International documents lethal incidents tied to the run‑up, including a manned paraglider bombing at a festival and a 10 December strike on a hospital in Rakhine State, as air raids in 2025 trend toward a record.
- The National League for Democracy remains dissolved and leaders Aung San Suu Kyi and Win Myint are still detained, while the tightly controlled process is widely viewed as designed to cement military-backed dominance.
- Local coercion includes threats from administrators in Yangon and militia patrols guarding campaign materials, as rights groups urge governments to withhold legitimacy and pursue accountability, including ICC action and curbs on jet fuel.