Southeast Asian foreign ministers told Myanmar's military government to prioritize a ceasefire in its civil war over fresh elections during a meeting in Malaysia on Sunday. Myanmar's armed forces seized power in February 2021 on unsubstantiated claims of massive electoral fraud in 2020 polls won resoundingly by the Nobel Peace Prize laureate Aung San Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy.

Southeast Asian nations told Myanmar's military government on Sunday (Jan 19) its plan to hold an election amid an escalating civil war should not be its priority, urging the junta to start dialogue and end hostilities immediately.

The regional bloc told a junta representative at a meeting that a poll is “not a priority at the moment," Malaysia’s foreign minister said.