Who runs local government in Myanmar?

Under the 2008 Constitution, Myanmar has 14 regions and states with partly elected assemblies, but local administration below them is run by central ministries. The military coup of 1 February 2021 suspended this system, and since then large areas have been controlled by armed resistance groups and ethnic armed organisations with their own local administrations. Who holds local power therefore depends heavily on where you are, and information is highly uncertain.

Republic of the Union of Myanmar · Unitary state under military-led government (formally a parliamentary republic under the 2008 Constitution) · South-eastern Asia

The levels of government below the nation

Level	How it is chosen	What it does
Regions (7) and states (7), plus Nay Pyi Taw Union Territory	Assemblies (hluttaw) 75% elected, 25% military appointees; chief minister appointed by the President	Limited lawmaking under Schedule II; most services delivered by Union ministries.
Self-administered zones (5) and one self-administered division	Leading bodies made up of local assembly members and military representatives	Limited lawmaking for certain ethnic minorities (for example the Wa and Naga areas).
Districts (about 74) and townships (330)	Civil servants of the General Administration Department and other Union ministries	Main level of state administration; development affairs organisations run municipal services.
Wards (urban) and village tracts (rural)	Administrator chosen by heads of ten-household groups under the 2012 law (before the coup); since 2021 many replaced or appointed by the military authorities	Household registration, local order, passing orders from the township.

Three questions about local power in Myanmar

Are local leaders elected?

Before 2021, region/state assemblies were three-quarters elected and ward/village tract administrators were indirectly elected by household heads. Chief ministers and township officials were appointed. Since the coup, most local officials in government-held areas are appointed.

Which laws set up local government?

Regions, states, self-administered areas, townships and wards are set out in the 2008 Constitution and the 2012 Ward or Village Tract Administration Law. Resistance and ethnic armed group administrations are outside national law.

Who are local leaders accountable to?

In government-held areas officials answer upward to the Home Affairs ministry and the military-led government. Elsewhere, control rests with armed groups or resistance bodies, with little independent checking.

Traditional and customary authority

Buddhist monasteries and senior monks have strong moral and social influence in Bamar areas and run schools and welfare. In ethnic minority areas, chiefs, elders and churches (for example among the Chin and Kachin) traditionally settle disputes and manage land, and some ethnic armed organisations run their own courts, schools and taxes. These customary and armed-group systems are not part of the 2008 Constitution, but in many areas they are the main local authority in practice.

Community and neighbourhood power

Ten-household and hundred-household heads form the bottom of the state's administrative chain. Since the coup, opposition groups linked to the National Unity Government have created 'people's administration' bodies in some townships, while community-based organisations, monasteries and churches provide much of the local aid.

Points to know

Three-quarters of seats in national and regional assemblies are elected; the remaining quarter is reserved for military appointees.
Yangon and Mandalay have city development committees that raise their own taxes and fees.
Nearly 40% of the population lives in three regions: Yangon, Ayeyarwady and Mandalay.
The SNG-WOFI profile states that its information describes the system before the 2021 coup.

Local terms

Hluttaw: Assembly or parliament.
Village tract: A rural administrative unit made up of several villages.

Sources

Constitution of Myanmar 2008 (rev. 2015) (English text), Constitute Project, checked 14 October 2026
Country profile: Myanmar, OECD–UCLG World Observatory on Subnational Government Finance and Investment (SNG-WOFI), checked 14 October 2026
Myanmar country page, UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), checked 14 October 2026