Myanmar junta reports 52% turnout in staged vote

The Irrawaddy

Myanmar’s military rulers say just over half of eligible voters took part in the first phase of a three-stage national election, the country’s first since the 2021 coup. The figure — 52.13 per cent — is sharply lower than the roughly 70 per cent turnout recorded in the 2015 and 2020 polls.

The vote, held on 28 December across 102 townships, comes amid civil war and widespread scepticism. Analysts expect the military-aligned Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP), led by retired generals, to be returned to power. International observers, including the United Nations and human rights groups, have already dismissed the process as neither free nor fair, noting that opposition parties are banned and criticism of the polls is illegal.

Junta spokesperson Zaw Min Tun described the turnout as a “source of pride”, arguing that even established democracies sometimes see participation below 50 per cent. But the comparison rings hollow for many, given the context: Nobel Peace Prize laureate Aung San Suu Kyi remains in detention, her National League for Democracy dissolved, and large parts of the country are outside the junta’s control.

Further rounds of voting are scheduled for 11 and 25 January, covering most of Myanmar’s 330 townships. Yet the Asian Network for Free Elections notes that the junta’s framework imposes no minimum turnout requirement, meaning legitimacy is claimed regardless of participation levels.

For Myanmar’s people, the pattern is familiar. When the NLD has been allowed to contest, as in 1990, 2015 and 2020, voters delivered landslide victories that the generals refused to accept. When the party is barred, military-backed parties claim sweeping wins. The 2025 election appears to follow that script: a process designed not to reflect popular will but to entrench military rule under civilian guise.

The numbers may suggest a functioning democracy, but the reality is stark. Without genuine competition, voter turnout is little more than a statistic. Until Myanmar’s citizens are offered a real choice, elections will remain rituals of control rather than expressions of democracy.

-2026-01-02