[1][2][3][4] Since the coup, the military has ruled the country under a state of emergency, initially declared by Acting President Myint Swe for one year and extended six times by six-month periods, currently set to expire on 1 February 2025.

In January 2023, the military enacted a new electoral law tightening the requirements for party registration, banning the participation of people convicted of a crime including Aung San Suu Kyi and Win Myint, and switching from a first-past-the-post to a proportional system.

Added to the previously existing 25% reserved seats to the military, the switch to proportional representation would allow it to govern with just over a third of the popular vote.

[13][14][15] The National League for Democracy, which was removed from power in the coup, announced in February 2023 that it would not register under the new law, and was declared dissolved by the election commission the following month.

[22] In the 2020 general elections, the NLD won another landslide over the Tatmadaw (military)-backed Union Solidarity and Development Party, which lost additional seats in both chambers of the national legislature.

Senior General Min Aung Hlaing took power, organizing a junta called the State Administration Council (SAC).

In late February, the SAC unveiled a five-point roadmap, with the ultimate goal of holding "a free and fair multiparty democracy election.

[30] On 1 August 2021, Min Aung Hlaing formed a caretaker government, and declared himself Prime Minister, whilst remaining the Chairman of the SAC.

[36] In February 2023, the NLD announced it would not re-register as a political party under a strict new electoral law enacted by the junta the previous month.

"[43] The PR system also implies larger multi-member constituencies, which could enable the military to avoid having to cancel elections in insecure regions.

During the 2021 coup, Hla Thein, the civilian-appointed UEC chair was arrested by military authorities, and subsequently sentenced to prison.

Although the past three elections in Myanmar have been semi-free,[46] there have been concerns over such things as irregularities in voter lists, misinformation, fake news, and the vilification of Burmese Muslims.

[47] Some members of the NLD dominated Pyidaungsu Hluttaw elected in 2020 have formed an anti-cabinet known as the National Unity Government of Myanmar.

[8] Since January 2023, resistance forces have attacked and killed individuals associated with the planned election, including local administrators gathering data for voter lists.

The Constitution requires that elections be held within six months of the end of a declared state of emergency, which the military has extended repeatedly since the 2021 coup.

[8] In addition to ongoing security concerns, the election date may have also been delayed to forestall infighting within the Burmese military leadership around succession planning.

[8] After the sixth extension of the state of emergency in August 2024, Min Aung Hlaing announced that a census would be held between October 1 and 15 prior to a potential 2025 election.

[55][56] Australia's Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade characterised the junta's moves as a "further narrowing of political space in Myanmar."

The table below lists political parties that were dissolved by the junta, including the NLD and SNLD, that won 88% of the national parliamentary seats in the 2020 election.