Myanmars military-backed parliament elects coup leader as countrys new president

Myanmar’s Parliament Elects Min Aung Hlaing as President

In a parliamentary vote held on Friday, Senior General Min Aung Hlaing received at least 293 out of 584 votes cast by MPs, surpassing the majority threshold required to win the presidency. The 69-year-old general has been leading Myanmar’s armed forces since 2011 and orchestrated a 2021 coup against the administration of Nobel Peace Prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi.

Min Aung Hlaing was one of three candidates nominated for the post earlier this week, following a major reshuffle in the leadership of Myanmar’s armed forces. He has been anointed as the successor to lead the military by his chosen candidate, Ye Win Oo, a former intelligence chief seen as fiercely loyal to Min Aung Hlaing.

The election was held after a lopsided vote in December and January, where the pro-military Union Solidarity and Development Party won over 80 percent of parliamentary seats. The party’s landslide victory has been criticized by critics and Western governments, who have described it as a sham to perpetuate military rule behind a veneer of democracy.

Min Aung Hlaing’s ascension to the presidency follows a strategic pivot aimed at consolidating his power and earning international legitimacy while protecting the interests of an armed forces that has run the country directly for five of the past six decades. The civil war in Myanmar continues, with resistance groups forming a new combined front to take on the military.

Analysts predict that Min Aung Hlaing’s presidency will be marked by increased scrutiny from neighboring countries and potential intensified military pressure on resistance groups.

Source: Al Jazeera