CNI News
13 September 2025
The Union Election Commission (UEC) told CNI News that it will carry out the upcoming election process in accordance with the laws so that only qualified representatives can enter the Hluttaw.
The UEC said that for the general election scheduled to be held on December 28, 2025, candidate qualification requirements have been prescribed to ensure that only capable Hluttaw representatives will be elected.
“The representatives who are elected during the election will be the ones who will have to take part in legislative affairs for the State and for their respective regions/states. Such individuals must be competent persons. They must be able to serve for the benefit of the people and the public interest. The Union Election Commission will act in line with the prescribed laws to ensure that qualified representatives can enter the Hluttaw.”, the UEC stated.
The UEC has stipulated that candidates contesting in the upcoming elections must have, at minimum, an upper secondary level of education, and must hold a degree from a government-recognized university or college.
However, there are criticisms that the rules and regulations set by the UEC may be limiting the participation of political parties in the election and that such candidate qualification restrictions effectively block free participation when compared with democratic principles.
“In order to make it easier for political parties to establish and register, we have amended the Political Parties Registration Law and related bylaws, relaxing some requirements. Currently, there are 57 registered political parties. All of them must act in line with the provisions set forth in the Political Parties Registration Law and bylaws, as well as the Election Laws and bylaws for the relevant legislatures. The Commission continues to meet with political parties as appropriate and to address their submissions in accordance with the law.”, The UEC responded.
On September 9, 2025, the UEC announced the dissolution of four political parties — the National Democratic Force (NDF), the Democratic Party of National Politics (DNP), the Women’s Party (Mon), and the Union Farmers and Workers Force Party — due to failure to meet the required membership numbers and office requirements.
Among these four, the NDF, DNP, and the Women’s Party (Mon) had registered to contest nationwide. As a result, out of the nine parties that had registered to contest nationwide, only six remain.
Those six are: Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP), led by U Khin Yi, People’s Pioneer Party (PPP), led by Dr. Thet Thet Khine, People’s Party (PP), led by U Ko Ko Gyi, Shan Nationalities Democratic Party (SNDP), led by Sai Aik Pao, Myanmar Farmers Development Party (MFDP), led by U Kyaw Swar Soe and National Unity Party (NUP).
Among these, if any party fails to contest in at least half of the total constituencies (417 out of 833) or fails to submit the required number of candidates, it may also face dissolution.
