YANGON: Union Election Commission (UEC) chairman U Than Soe says political parties that are not elected must continue to engage in national politics outside parliament and work to gain public support by serving the public interest and the interests of voters.
A meeting between the UEC and political parties was held Friday (Feb 13) at the Union Election Commission Office, Conference Hall.
At the ceremony, U Than said that the multi-party democratic general election, which began on Dec 28, 2025, was conducted in three phases and was successfully held as a free and fair election in line with democratic standards.
He expressed his special gratitude to the political parties that participated enthusiastically despite various difficulties, and to the voters who came to vote with full responsibility and interest as citizens, unlike previous elections.
To ensure the successful holding of this election, the Ministry of Immigration and Population and the Department of General Administration have compiled a voter list based on the population records, and voters have been registered.
Announcements are posted three times before the election to allow for visits and additional preparations to be made in accordance with the law.
The UEC chairman said that efforts were made to systematically invite political parties to jointly verify the accuracy of the voter lists.
He also said that 60 days were allowed for campaigning, and additional days were allowed for each election based on the submissions of political parties.
He also expressed his gratitude for the systematic conduct of the campaign in accordance with the law throughout the campaign period.
Similarly, in order to ensure that voters who are eligible to vote, both domestically and internationally, do not lose their right to vote, advance voting activities are being systematically carried out in accordance with laws, rules, and procedures.
Unlike previous elections, the Union Election Commission has been supervising and monitoring the advance voting process.
Notifications have been sent to political parties in each election regarding advance voting and lists of delegates who visited the polling stations have been submitted, and special attention has been paid to preventing election fraud, the UEC Chairman said.
The three phases of the elections held from Dec 28, 2025 to Jan 25, 2026, had a total of 24.22 million eligible voters, with more than 13.14 million voters, representing a voter turnout of more than 54.22 per cent.
The election results were announced by phase, and the winning candidate lists, as well as the status of individual candidate votes in FPTP constituencies, and the representative calculation method in PR constituencies, were announced simultaneously.
The Union Election Commission obtained the lists for each polling station and calculated the results in the same way as the sub-commissions and published them systematically.
The detailed election results for each constituency in the regions and states were displayed openly for the leaders, representatives and officials of political parties to observe.
If their party or candidate feels that they have a grievance, they can submit a protest within the specified period, the UEC Chairman said.
In addition, the Union Election Commission invited representatives to make the election more comprehensive and systematic in each phase, and to ensure that voters could vote easily and without any inconvenience at polling stations.
Local and foreign election observers and representatives from international embassies were invited to observe all phases of the election and recognised it as a free and fair election, a transparent election, and a successful election in line with democratic standards. International and domestic media outlets also freely covered the election and filmed and broadcasted the orderly and orderly voting of voters, the UEC chairman said.
In addition, the number of parties elected through the Mixed Representative Proportional Representation (MMP) system has increased. In the 2010 election, when 32 political parties contested, and the 2015 election, when 91 parties contested, only 22 political parties were elected.
However, out of the 57 political parties that contested in this election, 31 political parties and one independent political party were elected.
Therefore, ethnic parties and small parties have received more representation in the parliament than in previous elections.
The commission will continue to carry out tasks after the election, such as creating a permanent voter list, reviewing the strengths and weaknesses of the election, and making necessary amendments, including amending laws and regulations.
Political parties will need to be in constant contact with the voters to be ready for by-elections for constituencies that have been unable to hold elections due to various reasons and to fill vacancies.
The UEC chairman said that political parties that do not elect representatives will continue to engage in national politics outside the parliament and will work to gain public support by serving the interests of the people and their voters.
Afterwards, officials from political parties who attended the ceremony discussed and presented issues related to elections and political parties.
Members of the Union Election Commission and officials from the Ministry of Immigration and Population clarified and discussed the presentations, and the Chairman of the Union Election Commission made necessary additions.
The ceremony was attended by members of the Union Election Commission, officials from the Ministry of Home Affairs, General Administration Department, and the Ministry of Immigration and Population, officials from the Union Election Commission Office, and chairmen, leaders, and officials from 55 political parties. - Eleven Media/ANN
