Why Myanmar top general’s exit is window dressing to cement military rule

Myanmar junta chief Senior General Min Aung Hlaing hands over a flag to newly appointed Commander-in-Chief General Ye Win Oo at a ceremony in Naypyitaw on Monday.

Photo: Handout via Reuters The Myanmar junta’s attempts to place its top man in the country’s highest civilian position have been described by analysts as a “constitutional repackaging of continued military rule”.

On Monday, Min Aung Hlaing, who leads the military junta after seizing power in a 2021 coup, resigned from the armed forces, moving a step closer to becoming president.

He stepped down after Myanmar’s parliament cleared the way for his nomination.

He handed over the role of commander-in-chief of the armed forces to Ye Win Oo, a staunch loyalist, who was promoted to chief of the army on the same day.

After toppling the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi and detaining the Nobel Peace Prize laureate, the junta leader dissolved her party, triggering an ongoing civil war.

He also oversaw heavily restricted elections in January that criminalised protests, excluded main opposition parties and led to a walkover win for pro-military parties.

Apart from the military, which occupies a constitutionally mandated 25 per cent of seats, parliament is operated by a coalition of parties loyal to the military.

Together with its allies, the military controls nearly 90 per cent of seats across the bicameral body.

Myanmar’s junta chief Min Aung Hlaing shows his inked finger after voting at a polling station during Myanmar’s general election in Naypyidaw in December.

Photo: AFP Under the law, Min Aung Hlaing must give up his current role as head of the armed forces if he accepts the presidency.

Describing the power transition as a “constitutional repackaging of continued military rule”, Kyaw Hsan Hlaing, a PhD student researching governance at Cornell University, said the recent polls were not a “general election” but one for generals.

The strongman, he said, was trying to shift from junta chief and coup leader to formal head of state without giving up the military’s underlying dominance. “The regime’s priority remains preserving cohesion at the top while trying to give military rule a more constitutional appearance.

By installing Ye Win Oo, he appears to be prioritising personal loyalty and regime cohesion over any serious change in war strategy,” Kyaw Hsan said.

He noted Ye Win Oo was widely described as a close loyalist and former intelligence chief whose rise had been unusually rapid. “T

原文链接: 南华早报