Myanmar coup leader Min Aung Hlaing appointed president in military-led election

Mizzima

Former Senior General Min Aung Hlaing was appointed president of Myanmar during a Union Parliament session in Naypyidaw on Friday, 3 April, securing 429 votes following a widely criticized military-held election.

The move marks a formal transition to a quasi-civilian military administration five years after the 2021 military coup that ousted the democratically elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi, who has been jailed since.

Min Aung Hlaing, who did not contest the election himself, engineered his path to the presidency through a process that included staging what observers call a “sham election” and subsequently convening the legislature.

The new administration includes former General Nyo Saw as Vice President (1), who received 126 votes from the military representative group, and Daw Nan Ni Ni Aye of the military-backed Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP) as Vice President (2) with 29 votes.

While the USDP won the majority of seats in the election which excluded the National League for Democracy (NLD), its chairman, U Khin Yi, was relegated to the role of Speaker of the Pyithu Hluttaw.

Days before the vote, Min Aung Hlaing relinquished his 15-year tenure as Commander-in-Chief of the armed forces, transferring the military’s top post to his confidant, General Ye Win Oo.

The appointment has drawn sharp condemnation from rights groups and international advisors.

Justice for Myanmar (JFM) characterized the parliament as a “rebranding effort” by an illegal junta responsible for genocide, war crimes, and mass displacement to gain false political legitimacy.

Similarly, the Special Advisory Council for Myanmar (SAC-M) has called on the international community to reject the “puppet government” and refuse any formal engagement with the new administration.