YANGON: Myanmar may not be able to hold its next election nationwide, the country’s junta chief, Min Aung Hlaing, admitted in comments published Monday, as the military struggles to contain escalating violence against its rule.
Since seizing power in February 2021, the military has repeatedly pledged to hold elections but has extended a state of emergency multiple times as it contends with opposition forces across various regions of the country.
Speaking to Russia’s TASS news agency in an interview published in the state-owned Global New Light of Myanmar newspaper, Junta supremo Min Aung Hlaing disclosed that officials are presently focused on verifying voter lists. He reiterated that elections could only be held once peace is restored.
“If the state is peaceful and stable, we have a plan to hold the election in relevant sections as much as we can, even if the election is not held nationwide under the law,” he stated.
The military justified its coup in February 2021 with unsubstantiated claims of electoral fraud during the 2020 elections, which were overwhelmingly won by the National League for Democracy (NLD) party led by Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi. Last year, the junta-controlled election commission abolished the first-past-the-post electoral system, which had led to significant victories for the NLD, in favor of a proportional representation system.
However, three years into the military’s rule, it continues to face formidable challenges in quelling armed opposition groups. Pro-democracy armed factions, as well as older ethnic minority armed groups, are engaged in widespread resistance against the junta across large swathes of Myanmar.
