In December 2025, the Myanmar military junta held the first phase of elections on 28 December in 102 of the country's 330 townships, with a second phase scheduled for 11 January 2026. The elections were rejected by the United Kingdom, Canada, Norway, Australia, Switzerland, and the European Union as failing to meet international standards. UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk stated there were "no conditions" for free and fair participation. Political parties that won 90 percent of seats in 2020 have been deregistered or barred, the junta cancelled voting in thousands of communities, and the Election Protection Law has been used to charge at least 293 people, including for posting emoji reactions to online posts. Thailand, however, endorsed the process, contradicting ASEAN's October 2025 position that cessation of violence and inclusive dialogue must precede elections. Myanmar nationals overseas have rejected the vote with fewer than 25 people cast ballots at the junta's embassy in Seoul, compared to approximately 10,000 in the 2020 election.
The junta continued military operations throughout the month, targeting civilian infrastructure including hospitals, clinics, schools, and monasteries. On 10 December, International Human Rights Day, the Burma Air Force struck a hospital in Mrauk-U Township, Rakhine State, killing at least 33 civilians and injuring 76. The UN's Independent Investigative Mechanism for Myanmar said this may be one of the deadliest attacks on hospitals since the 2021 coup. Airstrikes continued even as polling stations opened on 28 December, with attacks reported in Budalin Township, Sagaing Region. The Landmine Monitor 2025 report found that Myanmar recorded the highest number of landmine casualties worldwide, with over 2,000 incidents in 2024.
Despite the violence, resistance forces sustained operations across multiple fronts, seizing outposts in Mogok, Budalin, and Letpadan, and inflicting significant casualties on regime troops. Nineteen armed groups formed the Spring Revolution Alliance on 16 December, establishing a central command structure and announcing cooperation with the NUG and ethnic armed organizations. Public defiance continued through the nationwide Silent Strike on 10 December, open protests in regime-controlled Mandalay, and mass rejection of overseas voting. A Fortify Rights investigation documented Thailand forcibly returning approximately 3,500 Myanmar nationals into junta conscription and torture between February 2024 and November 2025. The ICC Registry reported that prolonged silence on the arrest warrant requested against Min Aung Hlaing over a year ago is eroding Rohingya survivors' confidence in international justice.