Myanmar 2025 General Election: Phase 1 Election Overview

Key Messages

• Despite security incidents on election day, Phase 1 of the 2025 General Election was conducted in 102 townships, with a reported voter turnout of 52.13 percent.
• Although Senior General Min Aung Hlaing stated that the election should be assessed only after all three phases are completed and claimed that conditions for a free and fair election were ensured, three non–USDP political parties submitted formal complaints following Phase 1, alleging a lack of transparency in advance voting.
• Based on post–Phase 1 results, the Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP) secured 231 winning candidates across all three legislatures, while ethnic political parties also won seats in several constituencies.
• At a briefing session for international election observers held in Nay Pyi Taw, observers from China and Russia expressed positive assessments of the election, while ASEAN indicated that it would continue monitoring post-election developments.

1. Background

Phase 1 of the 2025 General Election was held on 28 December 2025 in 102 townships across Myanmar. During the election period, violent incidents occurred in several regions and states, resulting in casualties. However, these incidents did not appear to have a major overall impact on the conduct of the election.

This election marked Myanmar’s first use of electronic voting machines and was characterized by relatively low public interest. While domestic and international stakeholders expressed divergent views on the election’s credibility, the military-appointed election authorities cited statements from international observers to assert that the election was free and fair.

Political parties raised concerns regarding difficulties encountered during voting, as well as a lack of transparency in vote counting and advance voting processes. In response, the Union Election Commission (UEC) held a meeting with political party leaders in Nay Pyi Taw to provide explanations. Following Phase 1, the UEC released the names of winning candidates and constituency-level vote totals in stages.

This assessment by Data for Myanmar is based on available data and examines the Phase 1 election across several dimensions, including: the actual election coverage at ward and village tract level, election-period security incidents, election-day conditions, voter turnout and election results, political party concerns over transparency to advance voting, and other key developments during the election period.

Download full report (English I Myanmar)