Myanmar kicks off 2025 general election five years after Civil War
Yangon: Myanmar kicked off its 2025 multi-party democratic general election with the first phase held on Sunday. This comes after five years of the Civil War.
The general election is scheduled to be held in three phases, with the second phase set for January 11, 2026, followed by the third phase on January 25.
The election will cover a total of 692 constituencies across the country. About 5,000 candidates from 57 political parties are competing for seats in the Pyithu Hluttaw (Lower House), Amyotha Hluttaw (Upper House), and State and Region Hluttaws (State and Region Parliaments).
The election will produce the elected members of the Union Parliament (Pyithu Hluttaw and Amyotha Hluttaw) and State and Region Parliaments; the new Union Parliament will then elect a new president, who will form a new Union Government, reports Xinhua news agency.
According to the Union Election Commission, a total of 21,517 polling stations have been set up nationwide for the general election.
Unlike previous elections, Myanmar has introduced the Mixed-Member Proportional (MMP) system and the Myanmar Electronic Voting Machine. The MMP system combines First-Past-the-Post and Proportional Representation, the state-owned daily Global New Light of Myanmar reported.
According to the Ministry of Information, Myanmar citizens living abroad have already cast their advance votes at overseas embassies and consulates. Election observation teams from several countries have arrived in Myanmar to observe the polls.
Myanmar’s last general election was held in November 2020.
Additionally, a total of 1,183 female parliamentary candidates are running in the general election, according to the country’s Information Team of National Defence and Security Council.
The number of women candidates has increased compared to previous elections, with 908 in 2020 and 799 in 2015, the information team had said in November.
The increase in female participation is due to the adoption of the proportional representation system, which has encouraged more women to enter politics, according to U Khin Maung Oo, a member of the Union Election Commission.