Voter turnout exceeds 52 percent in first round of elections: Maj. Gen. Zaw Min Tun
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Htet Nadi (NP news) - January 3
Major General Zaw Min Tun, leader of the National Defense and Security Council's press team, said that in the first phase of the election, among more than 11.5 million eligible voters , more than 6 million (52 percent) cast their ballots.
“Since taking office, our government has ensured the re-implementation of the multi-party democratic system desired by the people, and has set goals and future programs with this in mind. We have always aimed to hold a multi-party democratic general election,” said Maj. Gen. Zaw Min Tun.
The government has made efforts to hold multi-party democratic general elections within two years of assuming the responsibilities of the state under the 2008 Constitution.
“However, in 2023, the country's peace and stability, and the rule of law were disrupted due to the targeted terrorist acts and military attacks by some EAO groups and PDF terrorists against the people and the state, and the conditions for holding elections were lost,” he added.
He also stated that the government has taken special care to ensure that the election is held as promised to the people. It has worked hard to ensure peace and stability in the country to hold the election, and has also carefully prepared the basic requirements for a free and fair election.
A nationwide census was conducted in 2024 and basic voter lists were consolidated. The election was planned to be held in three phases: the first phase on December 28, 2025, the second phase on January 11, 2026, and the third phase on January 25, 2026.
At present, the first phase of the election has been successfully conducted and Maj. Gen. Zaw Min Tun released some election-related information, stating that the voter lists were published three times and that there were more than 24,261,293 eligible voters nationwide– exceeding 24 million.
There were 57 competing parties, including six competing nationwide and 51 competing within a region or state, and a total of 4,863 Hluttaw representatives were competing, said Maj. Gen. Zaw Min Tun.
“The recently concluded first phase of the election was held in 102 townships. Since there are 330 townships in our country where elections will be held, it was held in one-third of the townships. In the first phase of the election, there were 11,692,144 eligible voters, and 6,095,511 (over six million) voters cast their votes, representing a voter turnout of 52.13 percent. Even in developed democracies, voter turnout does not exceed 50 percent, but in Myanmar, the voter turnout was over 50 percent, which is a source of pride for Myanmar’s democratic system and a successful election,” he said.
The first parliamentary election in Myanmar was held in June 1951, more than four years after independence, and lasted five months until November. Like this time, it was held in three phases, with each phase lasting seven to ten days, said Maj. Gen.
“At that time [in 1951], the number of eligible voters nationwide was eight million, and there were a total of 1.5 million voters in all three phases. Voter turnout was only about 18 percent,” Maj. Gen. Zaw Min Tun continued. –