Junta chief clings to purported goal of new elections under his stewardship

By Admin 08 May 2024

DMG Newsroom
8 May 2024, Sittwe

The regime has not yet abandoned its dream of holding an election despite being locked in a civil war and having lost large swaths of territory in recent months.

Junta boss Min Aung Hlaing held talks via video conferencing with former Cambodian prime minister Hun Sen on Monday. Min Aung Hlaing talked about voting, junta media reported.

He explained to Hun Sen, who is now serving as the head of Cambodia’s Senate, about the preparations the regime is making to hold a free and fair election, according to junta media.

The two discussed the junta’s preparations to organise a poll in line with the military-drafted 2008 Constitution, Cambodia’s actions regarding the Myanmar issue vis-a-vis ASEAN, and Cambodia’s electoral experiences, regime mouthpieces reported.

Political observers, however, say the junta’s election dream is unrealistic due to the ongoing nationwide revolt against its rule.

“The junta leader has nothing else to say except promising the poll. He has repeatedly promised the poll whenever he meets foreign governments that get along well with him. While the fighting is intense across the country, and his army has been forced to conscript new recruits, how can it provide security for the poll?” asked an observer.

The regime has repeatedly promised a fresh poll since seizing power from a democratically elected government in a coup in February 2021. The regime is currently struggling even to compile voter lists.

At the cabinet meeting of his regime on March 29 in Naypyitaw, Min Aung Hlaing said a census was being conducted to obtain accurate voter lists.

Over recent months, the regime has lost dozens of towns and hundreds of junta positions to anti-regime forces in Arakan, Shan, Karen, Kachin and Karenni (Kayah) states and Sagaing Region.

The regime would take measures to restore peace and stability across Myanmar, Min Aung Hlaing told the March 29 meeting. Security forces including the military, police, and militias would work together with the people to restore normalcy in regions suffering from hostilities, he said.

The regime has said it would replace the previously used first-past-the-post electoral system with a proportional representation system in its proposed election, a move that would likely benefit its proxy parties and overall hold on power.