The state of emergency imposed after the 2021 coup was formally ended in early August and power was transferred to an interim civilian government. National elections are scheduled for December 28. Junta chief Min Aung Hlaing remains acting president while also serving as commander of the armed forces. The military continues to battle resistance groups and ethnic armed organizations, with a running tally showing continued attacks, explosions and air strikes over the past year. The regime controls less than half the country and more than 3.5 million people are displaced. International monitors and analysts characterize the transition and announced polls as symbolic or a charade, with concerns that the process aims to preserve military influence and fragment opposition.
Myanmar's military rulers officially ended the country's state of emergency in early August more than four years after it was imposed following the 2021 coup. Power has been transferred to an interim civilian government, with national elections scheduled for December 28. Junta chief Min Aung Hlaing is currently acting president, while also serving as the chief of the armed forces which has ruled the country for most of its post-independence history.
"It's the military basically pretending to have some kind of transition process. But ultimately it's just going to be a continuation of military rule, just with a different disguise," he told DW. "They think, if holding these elections actually divides the armed opposition and divides various political groupings, then that's good," Mathieson added. "I think there is partly a strategy of, 'let's hold this ridiculous election with the stated aim of actually unifying the country' but what in fact they're hoping [for] is further division," he suggested.
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