The head of Myanmar’s ruling military junta, who overthrew the previous government five years ago, has been elected president after winning a parliamentary vote.
Min Aung Hlaing comfortably passed the threshold needed to win Friday’s ballot, which was broadcast live, in a chamber dominated by the pro-military Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP) and members appointed by the armed forces.
The 69-year-old’s transition to civilian leader follows a landslide victory for the army-backed USDP in a general election held in December and January.
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Critics and Western governments dismissed the polls as a sham to continue military rule behind a facade of democracy.
Min Aung Hlaing has led the nation since orchestrating a coup against the government of Aung San Suu Kyi in 2021, sparking a civil war.
The Nobel Peace Prize winner was arrested, sparking widespread protests that turned into nationwide armed resistance against the junta.
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The general, who has led the armed forces since 2011, has long coveted the presidency, according to independent Myanmar analyst Aung Kyaw Soe, who said “it appears his dreams are now becoming a reality”.
On Monday, as he was nominated in parliament as a presidential candidate, Min Aung Hlaing anointed Ye Win Oo, a former intelligence chief seen as a fierce loyalist, as his successor to lead the military.
Earlier this week, some anti-junta groups – including those containing remnants of Suu Kyi’s party and longstanding ethnic minority armies – joined forces in a new combined front to take on the military.
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The Steering Council for the Emergence of a Federal Democratic Union said on Monday that they wanted to “completely dismantle all forms of dictatorship” and “collectively initiate a new political landscape”.
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Resistance groups could face intensified military pressure as well as increased scrutiny from neighbouring countries that may seek to bolster their relationship with Min Aung Hlaing’s new administration, analysts said.
The military handover and Min Aung Hlaing’s rise to the presidency are seen by analysts as a strategic pivot to consolidate his power as head of a nominally civilian government and earn international legitimacy, while protecting the interests of an armed forces that has run the country directly for five of the past six decades.
