Yangon, Myanmar — Myanmar’s coup leader, Senior General Min Aung Hlaing, has been elected president by a pro-military parliament, formalizing his grip on political power five years after ousting an elected government.
Min Aung Hlaing secured 429 out of 584 votes cast by MPs, according to Aung Lin Dwe, speaker of the combined upper and lower houses. The general orchestrated the 2021 coup against Nobel Peace Prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi, placing her under arrest and sparking nationwide protests that escalated into armed resistance against military rule.
The transition from top general to civilian president follows a lopsided election in December and January, in which the army-backed Union Solidarity and Development Party won more than 80% of contested seats. Critics and Western governments widely condemned the vote as a sham designed to perpetuate military control under the guise of democracy.
In Myanmar’s bicameral legislature, serving members of the armed forces occupy unelected seats, making up a quarter of total parliamentary positions. During Friday’s live broadcast of the vote, Min Aung Hlaing quickly passed the required threshold to win, as many observers had predicted. He was one of three candidates nominated for the presidency, with the two runners-up becoming vice presidents.
The general’s ascension follows a major reshuffle in the leadership of Myanmar’s armed forces, which he had led since 2011. Due to constitutional restrictions prohibiting the president from holding the top military position simultaneously, Min Aung Hlaing relinquished his role as commander-in-chief, passing it to Ye Win Oo, a close aide and former intelligence chief seen as fiercely loyal to the general.
Analysts note that Min Aung Hlaing’s move into the presidency fulfills a long-sought ambition, cementing the military’s control over the country while the civil war and political unrest continue.
