Min Aung Hlaing reiterates purported commitment to new election

By Admin 30 Mar 2024

DMG Newsroom
30 March 2024, Sittwe

Myanmar junta boss Min Aung Hlaing has again vowed to hold new elections without fail despite having lost large swaths of territory to the armed resistance over the past few months.

At a cabinet meeting of his regime on Friday in Naypyitaw, Min Aung Hlaing said his regime was preparing for the poll and conducting population census activities to compile accurate voter lists.

“We are taking steps to foster a multi-party democracy system,” said Min Aung Hlaing, who ousted the elected government in a February 2021 coup. Armed revolt is against democratic practices, he added.

The regime will do what it takes to restore peace and stability across the country, Min Aung Hlaing said.

In an interview with Russia’s TASS Media on March 18, Min Aung Hlaing admitted that his regime is unable to hold a nationwide poll for the foreseeable future, but will hold voting in areas where stability can be restored.

The regime has lost dozens of towns and hundreds of outposts in Arakan, Shan, Karen and Kachin states, and Sagaing Region, since a major anti-regime offensive was launched in November of last year.

Min Aung Hlaing has called on his army, police and allied militias to work together with the people to restore stability in areas wracked by armed revolt.

“The voting will take place if the regime is determined to hold it. However, it will only be able to hold polls in areas it controls. So, the regime will have to try to de-escalate armed conflicts,” said one politician who asked for anonymity.

The regime plans to replace the current first-past-the-post electoral system with a proportional representation alternative in its proposed poll.

The regime ousted the National League for Democracy (NLD) government in the 2021 coup, citing electoral fraud in the 2020 general election. The regime has since repeatedly professed its intent to return to democracy in Myanmar, but the likelihood of a poll remains dim more than three years since the coup.