Myanmar to hold by-elections in April

Tanzania's main opposition leader Tundu Lissu waves as he arrives at the High Court to attend his treason trial, in Dar es Salaam on November 6, 2026. Photo: AFP

Myanmar will hold by-elections next April, the polling commission said Friday, encompassing areas where the pro-military parliament could not previously hold voting due to the country’s devastating civil war.

The move indicates the military’s increasing confidence in its ability to control territory in the Southeast Asian nation after it claimed advances following a string of offensives.

Myanmar has been embroiled in civil war since the military ousted the elected government of Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi in 2021.

The junta staged phased elections last December and January, which it touted as a return to democracy following the coup.

But the highly restrictive poll was blocked in areas where rebels seized control in opposition to military rule, rejecting the elections as a charade.

The Union Election Commission said by-elections will take place on April 4, 2027, in 39 constituencies of the lower and upper houses of parliament, according to a statement published by state media.

According to an AFP tally, one-third of those constituencies are places where voting in the previous elections was called off for security reasons.

The scheduled votes are in areas where fighting is still raging, though, including the northern region of Sagaing, central Mandalay region and the western state of Chin.

The remaining two-thirds of constituencies will replace lawmakers who have been compelled by the constitution to vacate their seats after being promoted to senior government roles.

Myanmar’s parliament is dominated by lawmakers from the pro-military Union Solidarity and Development Party, while Suu Kyi’s party was dissolved and she remains detained.

Min Aung Hlaing, who led the 2021 coup that ousted Suu Kyi, was swiftly voted in as civilian president. Analysts and activists describe the new government as a fig leaf for military rule.

The civil war sparked by the military takeover is now in its sixth year and is estimated to have claimed over 100,000 lives, according to conflict monitor ACLED.

AFP