The army released a statement on January 7 urging the Union Election Commission (UEC) to hold the election as quickly as possible in nine townships in Rakhine State and one township in Shan State, where the 2020 election cannot be held.

The announcement said the army issued statements for every citizen not to lose their rights to give vote, to be a free and fair election and all eligible voters to give vote in respective constituencies. In a multi-party democracy system, it is a democracy right for every citizen to hold free and fair election and to choose the candidates who can represent his area and people.

The army announced a statement welcoming the request of Arakan Army (AA) to hold election in Rakhine State. As a result, no fighting occurred between November 2020 and January 7. The peace committee of the army held a meeting with the AA to hold the election during the time when the fighting ceased, it said.

The UEC suspended the 2020 election in some townships in Rakhine State and Mongkine Township in Shan State due to security reasons.