Four and a half years after the military dissolved Aung San Suu Kyi’s civilian government in a coup, stoking the multifaceted civil war that has claimed the lives of thousands of people, military spokesman Zaw Min Tun made the announcement.
In a voicemail shared with reporters, Zaw Min Tun stated that the state of emergency has been ended to allow for the nation to hold elections for the establishment of a multiparty democracy.
Within six months, he continued, “Elections will be held.” No precise date has been set.
The emergency rule, which had been in place for him as the head of state, was broken by a signed order signed by General Min Aung Hlaing, who was in charge of the coup in February 2021.
However, the order he signed gives him the same authority to decide when the elections will be held and which parties may participate in the process because the international criminal court is looking into crimes against humanity against the Muslim Rohingya minority.
The Global New Light of Myanmar, a government-owned newspaper, quoted Min Aung Hlaing as saying, “We have already passed the first chapter.”
At what the newspaper called an “honorary ceremony” for its members, he told the administration council of the military government, “We are now beginning the second chapter.”
The general will lead the 11-member commission that will oversee the election, according to a report released by state broadcaster MRTV on Thursday.
Elections have recently been referred to as a means of escaping the conflict, according to Min Aung Hlaing.
Opposition groups have pledged to discredit the poll, which a UN expert last month described as “a fraud” meant to legitimize the military’s continued rule, including former lawmakers who were ousted in the coup.
Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy won the 2020 elections by a landslide after making false allegations of fraud in the military’s landslide. The party’s other top leaders are still imprisoned, along with the Nobel Peace Prize laureate.
Analysts predicted that Min Aung Hlaing will continue to serve as president or head of the armed forces, consolidate his position, and become de facto ruler in the process.
Beijing supports “Myanmar’s various parties and factions properly resolving disputes politically, within the constitutional and legal framework,” according to a spokesman for the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
