Myanmar junta lifts state of emergency ahead of Dec. 2025 election boycotted by opposition

Myanmar’s military government has lifted a state of emergency ahead of a December election that opposition groups are boycotting, and international monitors warn will serve to consolidate the military’s power.

The state of emergency, declared by the military in February 2021, overthrew the elected government under former leader Aung San Suu Kyi, and arrested her and members of her ruling National League for Democracy party under charges for ‘election fraud’, which rights groups have deemed unsubstantiated.

Triggering a multisided civil war with a death toll in the thousands, the military coup also gave supreme power over the government to junta chief Min Aung Hlaing, who now touts the upcoming elections as a way to ease the conflict.

“The state of emergency is abolished today in order for the country to hold elections on the path to a multiparty democracy,” announced junta spokesperson Zaw Min Tun, as quoted by The Guardian.

He added that elections would be held within six months after the emergency period is lifted.

“A fraud”

The order Min Aung Hlaing signed revoked the emergency rule that empowered him as the armed forces chief and returned it to the head of state.

However, as observed by Al Jazeera, the move is not a big leap from the status quo.

As Min Aung Hlaing is also the acting president, the order gives him the same powers to decide when the election will be held and which parties may participate.

He is to lead an 11-member commission to supervise the election, according to state media.

“We have already passed the first chapter,” Min Aung Hlaing told members of the junta administration council at an “honorary ceremony”, as quoted by a state-owned newspaper.

“Now, we are starting the second chapter.”

Analysts predict that, following the elections, he will likely retain his role as either president or armed forces chief and consolidate power, prolonging his time as the de facto ruler.

Opposition groups, including ex-lawmakers ousted in the coup, have since pledged to snub the poll, which a United Nations (UN) expert has called “a fraud” conceived to legitimise the military’s rule.

Security concerns

Opponents and independent analysts estimate that the junta controls less than half the country, just 21 per cent of territory, according to a 2024 BBC study, though it maintains a firm grasp over the bulk of central Myanmar, including its capital.

Within hours of the junta’s announcement, state media reported that martial law and a state of emergency would be imposed in nine of the nation's 14 regions and states due to security concerns amid the threat of violence and rebellion.

In 2024, the junta held a nationwide census to compile a list of eligible voters, but only managed to conduct it in 145 out of Myanmar’s 330 townships, citing “significant security concerns” during a civil war.

It had previously announced that an election would take place in August 2023, but has repeatedly postponed it until recently, according to The Independent.

What has happened since the 2021 coup?

Since the 2021 takeover, over 7,000 people have been killed and close to 30,000 have been arrested, according to records kept by the independent Assistance Association for Political Prisoners, which the junta has disputed.

According to The Guardian, the coup had sparked widespread public opposition and mass protests, to which the military responded with deadly force, arresting all who were suspected of criticising its rule.

The military has since faced retaliation from the so-called people’s defence forces, composed of civilians, as well as ethnic armed groups that have long been fighting for independence.

In 2021, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) agreed upon a five-point consensus to end violence immediately and have talks to facilitate a peaceful solution, but the conflict has only worsened since.

Top image via Britannica & Wikimedia Commons