Myanmar’s military government has announced that long-promised elections will begin on December 28 amid widespread scepticism that authorities will allow a free and fair vote.
The Union Election Commission said on Monday that the vote would be the first phase in “step-by-step” general elections.
“Further dates for the subsequent steps of the elections will be announced accordingly,” the election commission said.
State media said some 55 parties had registered for the polls, including nine that would compete for seats nationwide.
The announcement comes after Myanmar’s military administration, led by Min Aung Hlaing, last month declared the end of a state of emergency for parts of the country in preparation for elections in December and January.
Min Aung Hlaing’s administration imposed emergency rule on Myanmar after removing Aung San Suu Kyi’s democratically elected government in a 2021 coup.
Opposition groups, including Aung San Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy, have pledged to boycott the elections, viewing them as a sham aimed at buttressing Min Aung Hlaing’s hold on power.
Myanmar has been racked by civil war since the coup, with large swaths of the country controlled by various rebel groups, including the People’s Defence Force, the Arakan Army, and the Ta’ang National Liberation Army.
The Southeast Asian country last held elections in November 2020.
After the National League for Democracy swept the poll in a landslide, the military claimed the vote was tainted by widespread fraud before arresting Aung San Suu Kyi and numerous other democratically elected leaders.
Independent election monitoring groups, including the Asian Network for Free Elections and the Carter Center, have dismissed claims of widespread fraud and said the outcome was broadly in line with the wishes of the public.
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