Polls open for military-ruled Myanmar's first election in 5 years

YANGON, Myanmar (AP) — Voters went to the polls Sunday for the initial phase of Myanmar ’s first general election in five years, held under the supervision of its military government while a civil war rages throughout much of the country.

Critics charge that the election is designed to add a facade of legitimacy to military rule, which began after the army ousted the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi in February 2021. Her party won a landslide victory in the 2020 election but was blocked from taking office for a second term.

In Yangon, the country’s largest city, Naypyitaw, the capital, and elsewhere voters were casting their ballots at high schools, government buildings and religious buildings.

Critics argue that the results will lack legitimacy due to the exclusion of major parties and limits on freedom of speech and an atmosphere of repression.

They contend that the expected victory of the military-backed Union Solidarity and Development Party makes the nominal transition to civilian rule a chimera.

However, holding the election may provide an excuse for neighbors like China, India and Thailand to continue their support, claiming the election promotes stability. Western nations have maintained sanctions against Myanmar’s ruling generals due to their anti-democratic actions and the brutal war against their opponents.

Security in Yangon, the country’s largest city, had visibly stiffened on Saturday, with armed guards stationed outside polling stations and military trucks patrolling the roads. Election officials set up equipment and installed electronic voting machines, which are being used for the first time in Myanmar.

While opposition organizations and armed resistance groups had vowed to disrupt the electoral process, no major actions were carried out.

Suu Kyi, Myanmar’s 80-year-old former leader, is not participating as she serves a 27-year prison term on charges widely viewed as politically motivated. Her party, the National League for Democracy, was dissolved in 2023 after refusing to register under new military rules.

Other parties also refused to register or declined to run under conditions they deem unfair, and opposition groups have called for a voter boycott.

Amael Vier, an analyst for the Asian Network for Free Elections, noted a lack of genuine choice, pointing out that 73% of voters in 2020 cast ballots for parties that no longer exist.

Mobilizing opposition is difficult under the military’s repression. According to the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners, more than 22,000 people are currently detained for political offenses, and over 7,600 civilians have been killed by security forces since they seized power in 2021.

Armed resistance arose after the army used lethal force to crush non-violent protests against its 2021 takeover. The ensuing civil war has left more than 3.6 million people displaced, according to the U.N.

A new Election Protection Law has added harsh penalties and restrictions, effectively barring all public criticism of the polls.

U.N. Human Rights Chief Volker Türk has stated that Myanmar is witnessing intensified violence and intimidation, noting that there are no conditions for the exercise of freedom of expression or peaceful assembly.

In these circumstances, both the military and its opponents believe power is likely to remain with Senior Gen. Min Aung Hlaing, who led the 2021 seizure of power.

Voting is taking place in three phases, with Sunday’s first round being held in 102 of Myanmar’s 330 townships. The second phase will take place Jan. 11, and the third on Jan. 25. Final results are expected to be announced in late January.

While more than 4,800 candidates from 57 parties are competing for seats in national and regional legislatures, only six are competing nationwide with the possibility to gain political clout in Parliament.

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Associated Press writer Peck reported from Bangkok.

A voter shows off her finger marked with ink indicating she voted as she leaves a polling station, Sunday, Dec. 28, 2025, in Yangon, Myanmar. (AP Photo/Thein Zaw)

A voter casts a ballot at a polling station, Sunday, Dec. 28, 2025, in Yangon, Myanmar. (AP Photo/Thein Zaw)

A voter casts a ballot at a polling station, Sunday, Dec. 28, 2025, in Yangon, Myanmar. (AP Photo/Thein Zaw)

Election volunteers prepare to open a polling station, Sunday, Dec. 28, 2025, in Yangon, Myanmar. (AP Photo/Thein Zaw)

Voters wait for a polling station to open in Naypyitaw, Myanmar, Sunday, Dec. 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Aung Shine Oo)

Voters wait for a polling station to open in Naypyitaw, Myanmar, Sunday, Dec. 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Aung Shine Oo)

Voters wait for a polling station to open in Naypyitaw, Myanmar, Sunday, Dec. 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Aung Shine Oo)

Voters wait for a polling station to open in Naypyitaw, Myanmar, Sunday, Dec. 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Aung Shine Oo)

Voters wait for a polling station to open in Naypyitaw, Myanmar, Sunday, Dec. 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Aung Shine Oo)

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Jeffrey R. Holland, a high-ranking official in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints who was next in line to become the faith's president, has died. He was 85.

Holland died early Saturday morning from complications associated with kidney disease, the church announced on its website.

Holland, who died in Salt Lake City, led a governing body called the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, which helps set church policy while overseeing the many business interests of what is known widely as the Mormon church.

He was the longest-tenured member of the Quorum of the Twelve after President Dallin H. Oaks, making him next in line to lead the church under a long-established succession plan. Oaks, 93, became president of the church and its more than 17 million-strong global membership in October.

Henry B. Eyring, who is 92 and one of Oaks' two top counselors, is now next in line for the presidency.

Holland had been hospitalized during the Christmas holiday for ongoing health complications, the church said. Experts on the faith pointed to his declining health in October when Oaks did not select Holland as a counselor.

His death leaves a vacancy in the Quorum of the Twelve that Oaks will fill in coming months, likely by calling a new apostle from a lower-tier leadership council. Apostles are all men in accordance with the church’s all-male priesthood.

Holland grew up in St. George, Utah, and worked for many years in education administration before his call to join the ranks of church leadership. He served as the ninth president of Brigham Young University, the Utah-based faith's flagship school, from 1980 to 1989 and was a commissioner of the church’s global education system.

Under his leadership, the Provo university worked to improve interfaith relations and established a satellite campus in Jerusalem. The Anti-Defamation League later honored Holland with its “Torch of Liberty” award for helping foster greater understanding between Christian and Jewish communities.

Oaks, also a former BYU president, reflected Saturday on his more than 50 years of friendship and service with Holland, calling their relationship “long and loving.”

“Over the last three decades as a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, he lifted the weary, encouraged the faithful and bore a powerful witness of the Savior — even through seasons of significant personal trials,” Oaks said.

Holland was known as a dynamic orator whose sermons combined scholarship with tenderness. In 2013 he spoke to church members about supporting loved ones with depression and other mental illnesses, sharing openly about times when he felt “like a broken vessel.”

Holland is widely remembered for a 2021 speech in which he called on church members to take up metaphorical muskets in defense of the faith's teachings against same-sex marriage. The talk, known colloquially as “the musket fire speech,” became required reading for BYU freshmen in 2024, raising concern among LGBTQ+ students and advocates.

Utah Gov. Spencer Cox, a Latter-day Saint, said no church leader has had a more profound impact on his faith than Holland.

“His words had a way of penetrating my soul like no other,” Cox said. “In times of trial or darkness, I would return to them over and over again and feel the light and peace I needed.”

Holland was preceded in death by his wife, Patricia Terry Holland. He is survived by their three children, 13 grandchildren and several great-grandchildren.

This story has been corrected to show that Holland was preceded in death by his wife.

Associated Press writer Jeff Martin in Atlanta contributed.

FILE - Jeffrey R. Holland, member of the quorum of the twelve apostles, speaks during a news conference at the Conference Center, in Salt Lake City, Jan. 27, 2015. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer, File )