New Zealand’s Parliament endorsed a statement on Wednesday rejecting Myanmar’s 2025-26 regime elections, set to begin on Dec. 28 and continue into January 2026, saying that they cannot be considered “free, fair, or credible.”
“A resolution for the Parliament rejecting the Myanmar military dictatorship’s planned sham elections was passed unanimously,” wrote Phil Twyford, a Labour Party MP, on his social media on Nov. 5.
“There will be no genuine opposition parties on the ballot paper, and repressive laws have been passed criminalising public criticism of the elections,” Twyford said during his speech to New Zealand’s parliament.
Aung San Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy (NLD) government was ousted in a military coup on Feb. 1, 2021. Since then, the State Counsellor and President Win Myint have been held incommunicado by the regime, which seized power during the 2021 coup.
The Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP) has documented that at least 30,000 people have been arrested in connection with anti-coup activities since 2021, with around 22,600 still imprisoned, including more than 11,300 who have been sentenced.
The New Zealand parliament resolution followed a nine-day fact-finding mission, initiated by three MPs from different political parties, to the Thailand–Myanmar border in September to assess the humanitarian and political crisis caused by the 2021 coup.
During the fact-finding mission, New Zealand MPs Phil Twyford and Rachel Boyack from the Labour Party, and Teanau Tuiono from the Green Party, met more than 30 Myanmar civil society groups, humanitarian organisations, independent media, and representatives from the National Unity Government (NUG).
Twyford told New Zealand’s parliament that it must stand with the people of Myanmar rather than allow the regime in Naypyidaw to use elections to seek legitimacy from the international community.
“These are not real elections — they are designed only to legitimize a dictatorship,” Twyford said. “We must recognise the courage of the Myanmar people and stand with them as they struggle for democracy.”
Twyford called on the regime to release all political prisoners, end attacks against civilians, allow inclusive political dialogue with all stakeholders, and ease the humanitarian crisis by allowing aid deliveries and services to reach those in need.
He called for the implementation of U.N. Security Council Resolution 2669, which calls for an end to violence and respect for human rights, as well as the Association of Southeast Asian Nations’ (ASEAN) Five Point Consensus, which is a peace plan agreed to by regime leader Min Aung Hlaing in April 2021 but never implemented upon his return to Myanmar.
Twyford warned that the international community must not “look away” from Myanmar’s worsening political crisis. “If you believe in democracy and human rights, the people of Myanmar need your support now,” he concluded.
Since the 2021 coup, the government in Auckland has suspended high-level political and defence engagement with Naypyidaw. It has imposed travel bans on regime officials, and has supported international calls for a return to democracy and civilian rule.
