Myanmar junta sets March date for new parliament

Myanmar’s military regime confirms that a new parliament will convene in mid‑March, just weeks after staging an election widely dismissed as illegitimate.

According to the schedule released on Monday, the Lower House meets on 16 March, the Upper House on 18 March, and state and regional assemblies on 20 March. Even before the announcement, the military‑backed Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP), which claimed a sweeping victory in the absence of the National League for Democracy (NLD), had already instructed its candidates to prepare for Naypyitaw.

Lawmakers are expected to elect speakers, form committees and select a president before the end of March—steps that will shape the junta’s next administration. With the USDP securing 231 seats in the Lower House and 108 in the Upper House, the new parliament is firmly under the control of ex‑generals. Smaller parties, including the National Unity Party and the Shan and Nationalities Democratic Party, hold too few seats to challenge the USDP’s dominance.

Analysts say the USDP will steer every major parliamentary process, from electing speakers to choosing the president. Many observers predict junta chief Min Aung Hlaing will assume the presidency, backed by military‑appointed MPs and the USDP bloc. Under the 2008 Constitution, a quarter of parliamentary seats are reserved for unelected military appointees.

USDP chair Khin Yi insists the parliament reflects “the people’s voice,” but critics argue that a legislature born from a sham election cannot claim democratic legitimacy. One veteran analyst told The Irrawaddy that “everything is under Min Aung Hlaing’s control. No one dares move without his signal.”

The junta seized power on 1 February 2021, the day the elected parliament was due to convene following the 2020 vote. It arrested President U Win Myint, State Counsellor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and dozens of MPs, annulling the results that had delivered a landslide to the NLD.

Nearly five years on, the regime’s phased election—backed by China and Russia but rejected by Western governments, the EU, the UN and Myanmar’s diaspora—has produced a parliament dominated by military allies. Whether this new legislature gains any international recognition remains uncertain. Analysts suggest Min Aung Hlaing may use its formation in April as a bid to secure diplomatic acceptance abroad.

-2026-02-25