Statement (1/2026)
Reaffirming the Continued Legitimacy of the Results of the 2020 Multi-party Democratic General Election and Condemning the Convening of an Unlawful Parliament Arising from the Terrorist Military Junta’s Sham Election
16 March 2026
1. In the 2020 Multi-party Democratic General Election, more than 71 percent of eligible voters lawfully cast their ballots, and more than 96 percent of the votes cast were valid. A total of 5,639 candidates from political parties and independent candidates contested the election. Elections were successfully held in 315 out of 330 constituencies for the Pyithu Hluttaw (House of Representatives), 161 out of 168 constituencies for the Amyotha Hluttaw (House of Nationalities), and 641 out of 763 constituencies for the Region and State Hluttaws.
2. Through the results of that election, the people clearly and unequivocally entrusted their delegated sovereign mandate to the elected parliamentary representatives. Therefore, only those elected representatives are the legitimate holders of the delegated authority derived from the will of the people. That election was observed by international governments and independent organizations, which firmly recognized it as an election that reflected the will of the people.
3. On 1 February 2021, the terrorist military junta forcibly seized State power by arresting President U Win Myint, State Counsellor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, members of the Government, and elected parliamentary representatives. As a result, the implementation of the delegated mandate granted by the people through a free and fair election, as well as the democratic transition process, was violently disrupted and destroyed.
4. Moreover, the terrorist military junta has continuously committed atrocities against the people, including the arbitrary arrest and imprisonment of innocent civilians, torture and killings, and the use of civilians as human shields. It has also continuously carried out the burning of, airstrikes against, and heavy artillery shelling of civilian villages, schools, hospitals and clinics, religious buildings, and displacement camps. In addition, it has forcibly enacted unjust laws in order to oppress the public, undermine the freedom and security of the people, and impose forced military conscription.
5. Since the unlawful military coup, not only the rule of law, development, and peace, but the entire socio-economic life of the people of Myanmar has been devastated, and human security has been completely undermined. Furthermore, the dramatic rise in transnational crimes such as online scam operations, drug trafficking, and human trafficking now poses a serious threat not only to Myanmar, but also to regional and global peace and security.
6. In an attempt to conceal its war crimes, acts of terror, and unlawful conduct, the terrorist military junta staged a sham election and is now attempting, through that process, to establish an unlawful parliament and an unlawful administrative body. As a terrorist organization that has unlawfully seized State power by force, it has absolutely no authority to hold elections. Moreover, since the Committee Representing Pyidaungsu Hluttaw (CRPH) has already abolished the 2008 Constitution, which is the principal obstacle to Myanmar’s political reform and does not represent the will of the people, any election or political arrangement conducted under that Constitution is likewise devoid of legitimacy.
7. Furthermore, in holding that sham election, the junta arrested legitimate political leaders and political party members, restricted and dissolved popular political parties by various means, destroyed the basic human rights of the people, and used violence, threats, and information control against the public.
8. Having already lost control over large parts of the country, the terrorist military junta was able to conduct its sham election in only 263 townships nationwide, and was unable to hold it at all in 67 townships. In addition, within 103 townships, elections could not be conducted in 158 wards and 2,767 village tracts. Therefore, the sham election conducted by the terrorist military junta has absolutely no legitimacy in law, in fact, or in terms of the will of the people.
9. We, the elected parliamentary representatives, are exercising the people’s delegated democratic mandate in order to preserve and protect democracy and to build a future for the people that fully guarantees peace, freedom, and security. During these more than five difficult and arduous years of revolution, we express our gratitude and recognition to the new generation of youth, CDM civil servants, members of the People’s Defence Forces, the revolutionary public at large, and all revolutionary forces, who have stood resilient against the inhumane oppression of the terrorist military junta and who continue to participate in the struggle for the future of the country in various sectors.
10. Therefore, the Pyidaungsu Hluttaw, as the legitimate representative of the people of Myanmar, hereby affirms and declares the following:
(a) The results of the Multi-party Democratic General Election held on 8 November 2020 reflect the genuine will of the people and remain valid and legitimate to this day.
(b) The parliamentary representatives elected through that election, together with the Committee Representing Pyidaungsu Hluttaw (CRPH) formed by those representatives, continue to hold the democratic representation entrusted to them by the people as a whole. That representation and the people’s delegated mandate shall be upheld and wielded as a political instrument for the success of the ongoing Spring Revolution and the emergence of a Federal Democratic Union.
(c) The sham election organized by the terrorist military junta, as well as the parliament and administrative body formed through that election, do not in any way represent the will of the people and possess absolutely no legitimacy.
(d) The representatives of the Pyidaungsu Hluttaw shall continue working for the realization of democracy and the establishment of a federal system.
(e) The representatives of the Pyidaungsu Hluttaw shall continue to work together with any revolutionary forces to protect and safeguard the sovereignty that belongs to the people and to advance the process of establishing the Federal Democratic Union envisioned by the people. Once a free and fair election has been successfully held, the people’s delegated mandate conferred through the 2020 Multi-party Democratic General Election shall be returned to its original owners, namely the people.
(f) We urge the United Nations, international governments, and all international organizations to make greater and more active efforts to secure the immediate and unconditional release of all political prisoners, including President U Win Myint and State Counsellor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi.
(g) We urge all revolutionary forces, including the National Unity Government (NUG) and Ethnic Revolutionary Organizations (EROs), to work together in unity toward our shared objective of the complete eradication of military dictatorship and the emergence of a Federal Democratic Union based on full equality and self-determination.
(h) We call upon the international community to recognize only the elected parliamentary representatives, the National Unity Government, and the federal democratic forces as the legitimate stakeholders of Myanmar, and to provide them with technical assistance, humanitarian assistance, and financial assistance.
(i) We strongly urge neighboring countries, regional nations, and the international community not to recognize any political arrangements by the terrorist military group—including the illegal parliament and administration created through the sham election—and to refrain from diplomatic relations with them.
(j) Since the war crimes continuously being committed by the terrorist military junta against the people of Myanmar, together with the online scam operations and transnational crimes arising from the junta’s actions, threaten regional and international peace and security, we urge the expansion of political and economic sanctions against the terrorist military junta in order to deter and halt such acts.
This Statement was approved and issued at the Ninth Session of the Pyidaungsu Hluttaw, held on 16 March 2026.
The Pyidaungsu Hluttaw
