Junta unable to hold elections in dozens of wards and village-tracts in Sittwe, Kyaukphyu

By Admin 06 Dec 2025

DMG Newsroom

6 December 2025, Sittwe

The junta-controlled Union Election Commission (UEC) announced on December 6 that elections cannot be held in 71 village-tracts and wards in Sittwe and Kyaukphyu townships, according to Myanma Alinn Daily. All are areas nominally under military regime control.

The UEC said elections could not be conducted due to “lack of conditions”, listing 53 village-tracts and urban wards in Kyaukphyu Township and 18 village-tracts in Sittwe Township. These include Thae Tan, Thae Chaung, Min Pyin and Laek Kha Maw village-tracts in Kyaukphyu, and Thin Pon Tan, Chaung Nwe and Gang Gaw Kyun village-tracts in Sittwe.

“The expansion of constituencies where elections cannot be held in Arakan State is mainly due to the military,” said a political analyst. “The regime itself may have made the announcement knowing it is impossible to ensure the safety of candidates and voters in areas with intense conflict.”

The junta’s statement also listed areas where elections will not be held in 13 regions and states, including Arakan, Kachin, Kayah, Kayin, Chin, Shan and Mon states, and Sagaing, Bago, Magway, Mandalay, Ayeyarwady and Tanintharyi regions.

According to the UEC, 106 wards/village-tracts are excluded in Kachin State, 51 in Kayah, 156 in Kayin, 86 in Chin, 902 in Sagaing, 83 in Tanintharyi, 197 in Bago, 687 in Magway, 236 in Mandalay, 140 in Mon, 71 in Arakan, 212 in Shan and four in Ayeyarwady Region — a total of 2,931.

An Arakan State election observer said: “The military regime controls Sittwe and Kyaukphyu, but the fact that they cannot hold elections shows they cannot control the entire region. In any case, it seems that the military regime is no longer in power.”

The regime plans to hold elections in phases: Phase 1 in 102 townships on December 28, and Phase 2 in 100 townships on January 11, 2026.

Political analysts, however, say a military regime conducting airstrikes nationwide cannot achieve political stability. “The election will not bring political stability,” said U Myat Htun, CEC member of the Arakan League for Democracy. “This election is being held because Min Aung Hlaing wants to be president. There is no way peace can be achieved in Myanmar or elsewhere.”

The regime issued the Law on the Protection of Elections from Interference and Sabotage on July 29, which prohibits speaking, campaigning, demonstrating and distributing literature to disrupt the election.

Parties in Arakan State continue campaigning in the three townships under military control and among Arakanese communities in mainland Myanmar. As the election approaches, the regime has intensified attacks on Arakan Army-controlled townships in an effort to expand the election area.

The military and the Arakan Army are currently fighting in Sittwe and Kyaukphyu, with the junta conducting air, artillery, drone and naval attacks on civilian areas.