Myanmar’s ruling junta officially announced the postponement of the election initially promised to take place by August this year after the 2021 coup, according to state television.
In a meeting with the army-backed National Defence and Security Council (NDSC) on Monday, Junta leader General Min Aung Hlaing extended the state of emergency by six more months.
After overthrowing the elected government led by Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi, the military had committed to holding elections by August 2023. However, citing ongoing violence, they used it as a reason to defer the vote.
The junta’s statement on state TV explained, “While holding an election, in order to have an election that is free and fair and also to be able to vote without any fear, necessary security arrangements are still needed and so the period for the state of emergency is required to extend.”
Since the coup, Myanmar has been in turmoil, with a resistance movement engaged in multiple confrontations with the military, leading to a bloody crackdown and the re-imposition of Western sanctions.
The military seized power alleging fraud in the November 2020 general election, which was won by Suu Kyi’s party. However, election monitoring groups found no evidence of mass fraud.
The overthrow of Suu Kyi’s elected government disrupted a decade of reforms, international engagement, and economic growth, leaving a trail of disrupted lives in its aftermath.
