Myanmar's Military Leader Poised to Assume Presidency Following Coup

Yangon. The military leader who seized power in Myanmar through a coup on February 1, 2021, is preparing to formally become president. After the coup, Min Aung Hlaing had promised to hold elections and restore civilian rule within one year. However, that process took five years to complete.

Newly elected lawmakers are expected to select him as president today. According to the constitution, he has already resigned from his position as army chief to become president. However, analysts suggest this 'civilian rule' will be in name only. Most members of parliament are his supporters. The military is automatically guaranteed one-quarter of the seats, and the military-backed Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP) has won approximately 80 percent of the remaining seats. The election process is also alleged to have been skewed in their favor, making the result more of a 'formal announcement' than an 'election'.

The new government is also expected to remain under the influence of military leadership. Min Aung Hlaing has appointed his close associate Ye Win Oo to lead the army. Oo is known as a hardliner. Meanwhile, he has also formed a new advisory council that holds supreme authority over both civil and military affairs. This indicates that even if he formally sheds his military uniform, his power will not diminish.

For many citizens of Myanmar, this change does not seem to make much of a difference. The five years since the coup have proven devastating for the country. The brutal crackdown on civilians protesting the coup pushed the country toward civil war. Thousands have been killed, millions have been displaced, and the economy has collapsed. The coup, which took place just as parliament was about to be formed following a landslide victory by Aung San Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy (NLD) in the 2020 elections, further intensified public outrage even more.