Government & politics — Myanmar

both "Burma" and "Myanmar" derive from the name of the majority Burman (Bamar) ethnic group note: since 1989 the military authorities in Burma and the deposed parliamentary government have promoted the name Myanmar as a conventional name for their state; the US Government has not officially adopted the name

• history: previous 1947, 1974 (suspended until 2008); latest drafted 9 April 2008,
• approved by referendum 29 May 2008 amendments: proposals require at least 20% approval by the Assembly of the Union membership; passage of amendments to sections of the constitution on basic principles, government structure, branches of government, state emergencies, and amendment procedures requires 75% approval by the Assembly and approval in a referendum by absolute majority of registered voters; passage of amendments to other sections requires only 75% Assembly approval; military granted 25% of parliamentary seats by default; amended 2015

• chief of state: Acting President Sr.
• Prime Minister NYO SAW (since 31 July 2025) cabinet: Cabinet appointments shared by the pres
• ident and the commander-in-chief election/appointment process: prior to the military takeover in 2021, president was indirectly elected by simple majority vote by the full Assembly of the Union from among 3 vice-presidential candidates nominated by the Presidential Electoral College (consists of members of the lower and upper houses and military members); the other 2 candidates became vice presidents (p
• resident elected for a 5-year term) most recent election date: 8
• November 2020 election results: 2020: the National League for Democracy (NLD) won 396 seats across both houses -- well above the 322 required for a parliamentary majority -- but on 1 February 2021, the military claimed the results of the election were illegitimate and deposed State Counsellor AUNG SAN SUU KYI and President WIN MYINT of the NLD, causing military-affiliated Vice President MYINT SWE (USDP) to become acting president; MYINT SWE subsequently handed power to coup leader MIN AUNG HLAING; WIN MYINT and other key leaders of the ruling NLD pa
• rty were placed under arrest after the military takeover 2018: WIN MYINT elected president in an indirect by-election held on 28 March 2018 after the resignation of HTIN KYAW; Assembly of the Union vote for president - WIN MYINT (NLD) 403, MYINT SWE (USDP) 211, HENRY VAN THIO (NLD) 18, 4 v
• otes canceled (636 votes cast) expected date of next election: on 31 July 2025, the military government announced that it was prepari
• ng for elections to be held in December 2025 state counsellor: State Counselor AUNG SAN SUU KYI (since 6 April 2016);
• note - under arrest since 1 February 2021 note 1: on 31 July 2025, the military ended the state of emergency that had been in place since taking over the government in February 2021, although martial law continues to exist in parts of the country; at the same time, the military dissolved the State Administrative Council (SAC), which had been the official name of the military government in Burma, and replaced it with the National Security and Peace Commission (NSPC), chaired by Sr. Gen. MIN AUNG HLAING, who
• also retains his position as chief of the armed forces note 2: prior to the military takeover, the state counsellor served the equivalent term of the president and was similar to a prime minister

Description

dissolved 1 February 2021 by the coup led by Sr. General MIN AUNG HLAING; previously bicameral Assembly of the Union or Pyidaungsu consists of: House of Nationalities or Amyotha Hluttaw, (224 seats; 168 members directly elected in single-seat constituencies by absolute majority vote with a second round if needed and 56 appointed by the military; members serve 5-year terms) House of Representatives or Pyithu Hluttaw, (440 seats, currently 433; 330 members directly elected in single-seat constituencies by simple majority vote and 110 appointed by the military; members serve 5-year terms);

Note

on 1 February 2021, the military dissolved the Assembly of the Union, which was replaced by the State Administration Council

Elections

House of Nationalities - last held on 8 November 2020 House of Representatives - last held on 8 November 2020;

Note

the military junta overturned the results of the 8 November legislative elections

Election Results

• 2020: House of Nationalities - percent of vote by party - NLD 61.6%, USDP 3.1%, ANP 1.8%, MUP 1.3%, KySPD 1.3%, other 5.9%, military appointees 25%
• seats by party - NLD 138, USDP 7, ANP 4, MUP 3, KySPD 3, SNLD 2, TNP 2, other 2, vacant 7 (canceled due to insurgency), military appointees 56 House of Representatives - percent of vote by party - NLD 58.6%, USDP 5.9%, SNLD 3.0%, other 7.5%, military 25%
• seats by party - NLD 258, USDP 26, SNLD 13, ANP 4, PNO 3, TNP 3, MUP 2, KySPD 2, other 4, vacant 15 (canceled due to insurgency), military appointees 110

• highest court(s): Supreme Court of the Union (consists of the chie
• f justice and 7-11 judges) judge selection and term of office: chief justice and judges nominated by the president, with approval of the Lower House, and appointed by the president; judges normally
• serve until mandatory retirement at age 70 subordinate courts: High Courts of the Region; High Courts of the State; Court of the Self-Administered Division; Court of the Self-Administered Zone; district and township courts; special courts (for juvenile, municipal, and traffic offenses); courts martial

Summary

7 regions (taing-myar, singular - taing), 7 states (pyi ne-myar, singular - pyi ne), 1 union territory

Regions or States

• regions: Ayeyarwady (Irrawaddy)
• Bago
• Magway
• Mandalay
• Sagaing
• Tanintharyi
• Yangon (Rangoon) states: Chin
• Kachin
• Kayah
• Karen
• Mon
• Rakhine
• Shan union territory: Nay Pyi Taw

• Arakan National Party or ANP [THAR TUN HLA]
• Democratic Party or DP [U THU WAI]
• Kayah State Democratic Party or KySDP Kayin People's Party or KPP [TUN AUNG MYINT]
• Kokang Democracy and Unity Party or KDUP [LUO XINGGUANG]
• La Hu National Development Party or LHNDP [KYA HAR SHAL]
• Lisu National Development Party or LNDP [U ARKI DAW]
• Mon Unity Party (formed in 2019 from the All Mon Region Democracy Party and Mon National Party)
• National Democratic Force or NDF [KHIN MAUNG SWE]
• National League for Democracy or NLD [AUNG SAN SUU KYI]
• National Unity Party or NUP [U HAN SHWE]
• Pa-O National Organization or PNO [AUNG KHAM HTI]
• People's Party [KO KO GYI]
• Shan Nationalities Democratic Party or SNDP [SAI AI PAO]
• Shan Nationalities League for Democracy or SNLD Ta'ang National Party or TNP [AIK MONE]
• Tai-Leng Nationalities Development Party or TNDP [ U SAI HTAY AUNG]
• Union Solidarity and Development Party or USDP [THAN HTAY]
• Unity and Democracy Party of Kachin State or UDPKS [U KHAT HTEIN NAN]
• Wa Democratic Party or WDP [KHUN HTUN LU]
• Wa National Unity Party or WNUP [NYI PALOTE]
• Zomi Congress for Democracy or ZCD [PU CIN SIAN THANG] (numerous smaller parties
• approximately 90 parties ran in the 2020 election) note 1: in January 2023, the military junta announced a new law restricting political parties and their ability to participate in elections, including: 1) barring parties and candidates deemed by the junta to have links to individuals or organizations alleged to have committed terrorism or other unlawful acts
• 2) stipulating that political parties that wanted to contest the national election would also need to secure at least 100,000 members within 90 days of registration and have funds of 100 million Myanmar kyat ($45,500), 100 times more than previously required, which would need to be deposited with a state-owned bank
• 3) requiring that any existing party must apply for registration within 60 days of the legislation being announced or be invalidated
• allowing for parties to be suspended for 3 years, and ultimately dissolved, for failing to comply with the provisions of the new law
• 4) not allowing parties to lodge an appeal against election commission decisions on registration note 2: in March 2023, the military junta announced that 40 political parties had been dissolved, including the National League for Democracy, because they did not register under the junta's new party establishment rules

• no citizenship by descent only: both
• none note: an applicant for naturalization must be the child or spouse of a citizen

ADB, ARF, ASEAN, BIMSTEC, CP, EAS, EITI (candidate country), FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO (correspondent), ITU, ITUC (NGOs), NAM, OPCW (signatory), SAARC (observer), UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO

chief of mission

Ambassador (vacant); Chargé d’Affaires Susan STEVENSON (since 10 July 2023) embassy: 110 University Avenue, Kamayut Township, Rangoon mailing address: 4250 Rangoon Place, Washington DC 20521-4250

telephone

[95] (1) 753-6509

FAX

[95] (1) 751-1069

Email address and website

• ACSRangoon@state.gov
• https://mm.usembassy.gov/

chief of mission

Ambassador (vacant); Chargé d'Affaires THET Win (since 22 June 2022)

chancery

2300 S Street NW, Washington, DC 20008

telephone

[1] (202) 332-3344

FAX

[1] (202) 332-4351

Email address and website

• washington-embassy@mofa.gov.mm
• https://www.mewashingtondc.org/

consulate(s) general

Los Angeles, New York