The military in Myanmar has seized control of the country, detaining the country’s de facto leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, and declaring a state of emergency. The military has also claimed election fraud in the November vote, in which many members of its party lost.
The coup has ousted the country’s civilian leader, Suu Kyi, as well as other members of her National League for Democracy (NLD) party as the Parliament was poised to convene and form a new government following the elections. The parliament session had originally been scheduled for Monday, but it was recently postponed for one day because of rumours of a coup attempt. An unknown number of activists and human rights advocates were reportedly arrested on Monday, along with Suu Kyi and other politicians.
Why The State Of Emergency?
The military alleged discrepancies in the November 8, 2020 election such as duplicated names on voting lists in scores of districts. Its grievance was further escalated by the commission’s response to its complaints. The military, however, did not say if irregularities were substantial enough to have changed the election outcome.
At the polls, Suu Kyi’s NLD captured 396 out of 476 seats in the combined lower and upper houses of Parliament in November’s polls. Meanwhile, the Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP), the former ruling party created by the military before it officially ceded power in 2011, widely seen as a military proxy, was humiliated in the election, winning only 33 of 476 available seats.
How Long Will It Last?
On how long the current situation in Myanmar might last, the military in a statement released on its official Facebook page revealed that it will hold fresh elections and hand power back to the winning party once a year-long state of emergency has elapsed.
“We will perform real multi-party democracy… with complete balance and fairness,” the statement read.
In the meantime, it has installed Commander in Chief Min Aung Hlaing in power.
President Calls On Citizens To Fight The Coup
In a letter published on an official NLD Facebook page that is attributed to Suu Kyi, she told the public of Myanmar to “protest against the coup,” according to a translation by the BBC. She also told supporters not to accept a return to the military dictatorship that ended 10 years ago.
