Myanmar Politics

Myanmar is governed by a military-backed political order created after the armed forces overthrew the elected government in February 2021. Elections held in late 2025 and early 2026 were followed by the reopening of parliament, but the military and its allied parties emerged with overwhelming control, while major opposition forces were excluded or unable to compete. In 2026 the military leadership converted the post-coup administration into a new formally civilian constitutional government while retaining decisive influence.

Myanmar's legislature is bicameral, consisting of a lower and upper house, and the constitution reserves an institutional role for the armed forces. Parliament resumed sitting in 2026 after being blocked from convening for more than five years. The presidency, cabinet, legislature, and military therefore operate within a constitutional structure in which the armed forces hold exceptional political powers.

Myanmar is a unitary state with significant ethnic-state and regional administration, but an ongoing nationwide armed conflict means government authority is not uniform across the territory.