BANGKOK (AP) — Four years after seizing power from the elected administration, the head of the military government declared Myanmar will hold a general election within 10 months, state-run media reported Saturday.

Myanmar's junta chief said the country would hold an election in December or January, the first in the war-torn nation since the military staged a coup in 2021. Southeast Asian foreign ministers in January told the junta to prioritise a ceasefire in its civil war over fresh elections during a meeting in Malaysia.

Myanmar's military government will hold a general election in December 2025 or January 2026, state media said on Saturday, citing the junta chief, who provided the first specific time frame for the long-promised polls in the war-torn nation.

Myanmar’s long-promised general elections will take place in December or January next year at the earliest, junta chief Min Aung Hlaing said at a state-level meeting in Minsk, the latest effort by the military government to retain power and earn legitimacy.

The head of Myanmar's military government has said the country will hold a national election in December 2025 or January 2026. General Min Aung Hlaing said the elections would be "free and fair" - adding that 53 political parties had already submitted their lists to participate.