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The leader of Myanmar’s military junta, which overthrew the previous government five years ago, was elected president after winning a parliamentary vote.
Min Aung Hlaing comfortably passed the threshold needed to win Friday’s vote, which was broadcast live, in a room dominated by the pro-military Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP) and members appointed by the armed forces.
The 69-year-old’s transition to civilian leadership follows a landslide victory for the army-backed USDP in elections held in December and January.
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Aung San Suu Kyi in 2019. File photo: AP
Critics and Western governments consider the election a sham to continue military rule under the guise of democracy.
Min Aung Hlaing has led the country since orchestrating a coup against the government Aung San Suu Kyi in 2021, triggering a civil war.
The Nobel Peace Prize winner was arrested, sparking widespread protests that turned into a nationwide armed resistance against the junta.
The general, who has led the armed forces since 2011, has long sought the presidency, according to independent reports. Myanmar analyst Aung Kyaw Soe, who said “it seems his dream has now come true”.
Protests against the military coup in 2021. File photo: Reuters
On Monday, as he was nominated in parliament as a presidential candidate, Min Aung Hlaing named Ye Win Oo, a former intelligence chief seen as a staunch loyalist, as his successor to lead the military.
Earlier this week, several anti-junta groups – including groups made up of remnants of Suu Kyi’s party and long-standing ethnic minority soldiers – joined a new joint front to oppose the military.
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The Emerging Federal Democratic Union Steering Committee said on Monday that it wanted to “completely dismantle all forms of dictatorship” and “collectively embark on a new political landscape”.
Resistance groups could face intensifying military pressure as well as increased scrutiny from neighboring countries that may seek to strengthen their ties with Min Aung Hlaing’s new government, analysts said.
The surrender of the military and Min Aung Hlaing’s ascent to the presidency is seen by analysts as a strategic pivot to consolidate his power as head of a civilian government and gain international legitimacy, while protecting the interests of the armed forces that have run the country directly for five of the past six decades.
