ASIA/MYANMAR - The elections scheduled by the military junta offer "a ray of hope for civilian participation in government"

Yangon (Agenzia Fides) - The elections announced by the military junta in Myanmar, which are scheduled to begin on December 28, 2025, are controlled by the military, but "could ultimately lead to greater civilian participation in the country's government and represent a small positive step," Joseph Kung Za Hmung, a Catholic from Yangon, lecturer and founder of the country's first private Catholic university, tells Fides. He thus expresses a hope widespread in Burmese society. "We will see that the influence of the military junta will diminish in some ways," he continues. "There will be autonomous commissions, there will be talk of releasing political prisoners, the country will have democratic institutions again, and this will be a positive development that will allow us to take a first step towards ending the exclusive rule of the junta," the lecturer notes. "We fully understand and do not underestimate all the criticism and critical points, the fact that these will not be completely free elections, or that a large part of the population cannot or does not want to vote. But one must remember that this is still an election, an expression of democracy, certainly with obvious limitations and partly predictable results. But it is still the beginning of a path to returning to civilian government, even if it is obvious that the levers of political and economic power will remain in the hands of the generals, as has been the case in Myanmar for several decades of its national history."
The military junta in power in Myanmar has officially announced December 28 as the start of elections, which will continue in several phases until January 2026. Currently, 55 parties are registered, nine of which plan to compete at the national level. The government's electoral commission has designated 330 constituencies for seats in the lower house, 110 for the upper house, 364 for regional assemblies, and 29 for ethnic minority representatives. Observers point out that these constituencies include towns in resistance-held areas, which explains the intensified attacks by the army, which is trying to hold the election in these areas as well. The regime has not yet published a list of municipalities where elections cannot be held.
While acknowledging the problems and difficulties, Kung Za Hmung sees the election as "a first, faint glimmer of hope for a way out of a truly difficult situation: The country is being ravaged by a conflict that is destroying it, and everything must be done to break this stalemate," while Myanmar is divided between areas firmly under army control (in the center of the country) and peripheral areas controlled by resistance forces and ethnic militias.
"The electoral process will be incomplete; it is an election in which approximately 50% of the population will participate and which will take place only in the areas controlled by the military junta," explains Father Stephan Tang Gun, a Burmese priest and member of the Missionaries of Faith (MF), which operates mainly in the Myitkyina region, in an interview with Fides. He recalls that "for this reason, the election has been criticized by international institutions, governments of various countries around the world, and non-governmental organizations, who speak of it as a 'farce vote' that only serves to consolidate the military junta's rule over the nation." "It is a measure with which the military junta seeks to regain its internal and international legitimacy and give the impression of stability," emphasizes Father Tang Gun. "We will see how the nation evolves after this election, but certainly the political scenario will be different from the current situation, where only a military elite is in command," he notes.
"Meanwhile," the priest reports, "the situation on the ground remains serious; fighting continues unabated, for example, in the Banmaw area in the north, and in the Sagaing region, the conflict is claiming victims and increasing the number of displaced people." Bishops, priests, and religious are doing their utmost to offer spiritual support and material assistance to the displaced, "even under very difficult conditions, sometimes aggravated by floods," the priest reports. "And we all continue to pray for the future of the country and ask for peace and justice," he concludes. (PA) (Agenzia Fides, 20/8/2025)

Share:

elections

---

---

politics

---

---

justice

---

---

civil war

---

---