In a landmark electoral vote held in Myanmar’s capital Nay Pyi Taw on Friday, junta leader Min Aung Hlaing has secured a decisive victory in the country’s presidential election, earning more than half of all votes cast by the Union Parliament, according to a Xinhua update published on April 3, 2026.
The vote unfolded through the country’s Presidential Electoral College, a legislative body made up of all sitting Union Parliament representatives. A total of 584 members of the Electoral College attended Friday’s voting session, which drew three competing candidates each nominated through different parliamentary blocs under Myanmar’s current electoral framework.
Under the country’s existing system, three vice presidents are first selected to serve as the only eligible candidates for the presidency. Earlier that week on Tuesday, Min Aung Hlaing, U Nyo Saw, and Nan Ni Ni Aye had been confirmed as the three vice presidents, and by Thursday, the Union Parliament had completed mandatory qualification reviews, clearing all three to appear on the presidential ballot.
When votes were counted, Min Aung Hlaing — who was put forward as a candidate by members of the Pyithu Hluttaw, Myanmar’s lower parliamentary house — collected 429 votes, a clear majority of the 584 ballots cast. His closest competitor, U Nyo Saw, who ran as a representative of the joint military caucus from both parliamentary houses, secured 126 votes. The third candidate, Nan Ni Ni Aye, who received a nomination from members of the upper parliamentary house, the Amyotha Hluttaw, won 29 votes to round out the results. The outcome of the election formalizes Min Aung Hlaing’s assumption of the country’s highest office, capping a weeks-long electoral process laid out by the country’s current legislative structure.