Myanmar ends state of emergency, announces transitional government and elections
On 18 August 2025, Myanmar’s Union Election Commission issued Announcement No. 55/2025 (“Announcement”) stipulating that the first phase of multiparty general elections will be held on 28 December 2025. The elections are to be conducted in four phases, with additional dates to follow. The districts to be included in the first phase have not yet been disclosed.
Voter rolls have been created further to a census conducted in 2024 though media reports state that only 145 out of Myanmar’s 330 townships were surveyed. Myanmar last held elections in November 2020.
The Announcement follows the formal end of the country’s state of emergency on 31 July 2025, after which authority was nominally transferred to a civilian-led interim government. The emergency had been in place since February 2021.
In the weeks leading up to the Announcement, the National Defence and Security Council issued two key orders shaping the transitional framework. On 1 August 2025, it issued Order No. 3/2025, appointing the cabinet of the new Union Government, headed by Prime Minister Nyo Saw. The following day, Order No. 4/2025 established the State Security and Peace Commission, chaired by Min Aung Hlaing, to oversee legislative, administrative, and judicial functions during the transition. Together, these measures provide the institutional backdrop for the conduct of the upcoming polls.
