Overall, the elections were peaceful, competitive and open for voters to participate. Interest in the election appeared high with people across the country arriving early to wait in line on election day.

PACE was interested to know how often people have engaged with their communities, which is crucial and healthy for democratic society. The findings show that people are less associated with their communities.

The majority of people are interested in politics, with 16% saying they are very interested and 42% saying they are somewhat interested. The remainder of respondents said they were not very interested (18%) or not at all interested (15%).

More than half of citizens (57%) were not able to mention at least one characteristic of democracy. Of the characteristics identified by citizens, peace (17%) was the most mentioned.

According to the findings only 48 % of citizens in by-election constituencies know that the election is happening in November and only one third of population in by-election constituencies know the voter list display in July.

Generally, the whole electoral process was smooth and calm, and PACE and PTE observers did not witness any major incidents in the 12 target constituencies. However, some media reports raised concerns regarding the conduct of . . .

As the term of the current Hluttaws will expire on January 31, 2021, Myanmar is expected to conduct the next general elections in late 2020. Given the existing electoral legal framework, there is still need for legal reform if the elections are to meet democratic standards.