Myanmar’s junta strongman Min Aung Hlaing moved a step closer to becoming the country’s civilian president on Monday when lawmakers nominated him for a three-way runoff that is largely seen as a formality.
The 69-year-old general has ruled Myanmar since a 2021 coup that handed power to the democratically elected government of Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi. Amid a period of armed internal conflict, Min Aung Hlaing has overseen severe repression against dissent, including criminalizing dissent.
This paved the way for a landslide victory among pro-military parties in the January parliamentary election.
Lower House lawmaker Kyaw Kyaw Htay nominated Min Aung Hlaing as the country’s vice president on Monday morning. There will now be a parliament-wide vote between him and two other candidates for the presidency.
Min Aung Hlaing’s close aide, former spy Ye Win Oo, will replace him as military commander.
The junta ‘craves’ legitimacy
In 2011, Myanmar’s military leaders bowed to international pressure to release Aung San Suu Kyi from detention, allowing her to assume a civilian leadership role after decades of military dictatorship.
However, after his party defeated pro-military groups in the 2020 elections, analysts believe Min Aung Hlaing became unhappy with the military’s declining influence and began plotting a coup.
“This political maneuver signals that Min Aung Hlaing wants to continue to rule the country with an iron fist,” Naing Min Khant, an analyst at the Institute for Strategy and Policy Myanmar, told French news agency AFP.
“They fundamentally lack legitimacy but they are very keen to show it off.”
Edited by: Natalie Muller