New Delhi: The military rule that completed two years in Myanmar this February 1, has been extended by another six months – thus pushing any hope for elections in that country to restore democracy into further uncertainty.
Former general of Myanmar army, Mynt Swe – the acting president of the Junta-controlled National Defence and Security Council (NDSC) – made the announcement on February 1, reported The Irrawaddy, quoting military-controlled state media.
The news report said, “Junta leaders lamented the ‘extraordinary situation’ (in the country), referring to resistance against the regime, which has hampered efforts to hold a general election this year.”
In 2021, the Junta took control of the country’s administration through a coup that toppled the National League for Democracy (NLD) government voted to power after a landslide victory in the general elections of 2020. The reason cited by the military to suspend democracy in the neighbouring country was alleged voting fraud.
Soon, NLD top leaders, including its co-founder and Nobel Laureate Aung San Suu Kyi and civilian president U Win Mynt were arrested and in course of time, multiple years of imprisonment pronounced by the courts. Both the leaders are among several NLD leaders to be in jail currently serving their sentences.
Elsewhere in the country, hundreds of common people have been killed, injured, arrested, tortured and tried in courts for resisting the coup. In several parts of Myanmar, the military is in direct confrontation with resistance forces, leading to multiple incidents of violence and death.
Dozens of refugees have slipped into the Indian state of Mizoram since the coup due to the ongoing violence. India’s Northeast, spanning Mizoram, Nagaland, Arunachal Pradesh and Manipur, shares a 1600-km-long border with Myanmar.
The Irrawaddy said the reason cited by the regime for the inability to hold general elections is difficulty in compiling “accurate voter lists because of the resistance attacks on census takers.”
“While at least 50 per cent of lawmakers must be elected to regional and state parliaments for them to convene, voting is impossible in more than half of some regions and states,” the report said, quoting Junta chief and chairman of the State Administration Council, Ming Aung Hlaing. He allegedly said this at the decision-making meeting held on January 31 to extend the military rule. The Constitutional Tribunal later endorsed the decision claiming it was possible under the provisions in the military-drafted 2008 Constitution.
Earlier, the Junta chief had promised to hold general elections in August 2023.
This had led several Myanmar observers to opine that such an action might trigger more bloodshed as the Junta-held elections would not be “free and fair under the present circumstances.”
