The National League for Democracy (NLD) party, which was ousted from government during the military coup on Feb. 1, 2021, announced on Wednesday that it has expelled 20 of its members for participating in, contesting, or supporting the regime’s 2025-26 elections starting on Dec. 28.
“The NLD has already issued prohibitions against recognizing or cooperating with the military’s sham election, which is aimed at gaining political legitimacy. They have ignored them. They have been deemed to be acting against the people’s will,” the NLD stated on Dec. 24.
It added that the 20 members expelled included 15 from Yangon Region’s Dagon Seikkan, Mingaladon, North Okkalapa, Mingala Taungnyunt, and Bahan townships. Another two are from Bago Region’s Daik-U Township. Two more are from Karen State’s Myawaddy District and Hlaingwa village. One is from Mon State’s Thanbyuzayat Township.
This is the first time that the NLD, one of the country’s largest political parties, has expelled members en masse since the 2021 military coup. The Union Election Commission (UEC) announced the polls will begin on Dec. 28 and continue on Jan. 11 and Jan. 25, 2026.
The NLD, along with the National Unity Government (NUG), a group representing NLD lawmakers ousted in the 2021 coup, and the Women’s League of Burma (WLB), an organization representing Myanmar women’s groups, have called on citizens to boycott and reject the regime elections.
International human rights organizations, including the U.N., have also criticized the polls, warning that free and fair elections are impossible amid ongoing conflict, widespread displacement, and the detention of political opponents.
The NLD was dissolved by the UEC in March 2023 after it refused to re-register under this regime. Founded in 1988, the NLD won a landslide victory in the 1990 general election, but the then-military regime refused to recognize the results and jailed many party members.
NLD leader Aung San Suu Kyi was released from house arrest in 2010 and won a parliamentary seat in the 2012 by-elections. She led the NLD to victories in the 2015 and 2020 general elections.
In the previous election on Nov. 8, 2020, voting took place in 1,117 out of 1,171 constituencies, with a nationwide turnout of more than 71 percent, according to NLD. It won over 82 percent of all contested parliamentary seats, electing 920 lawmakers.
Pro-military political parties, including the Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP), alleged voter fraud by the NLD. Senior General Min Aung Hlaing repeated this claim of election fraud when he seized power during the military coup on Feb. 1, 2021. But he has yet to provide any evidence.
Aung San Suu Kyi and President Win Myint were detained and have been held ever since. The NLD stated that at least 102 of its members, including two lawmakers, have been killed, while 1,905 members—among them 144 elected parliamentarians—have been arrested, since 2021.
