Myanmar to start process to select new president, but critics doubt it’s democracy

Myanmar’s parliament will start the process to elect a new president on March 30, officials said on Friday, a vote many analysts expect will be won by the head of the junta that seized power in a coup in 2021. Following a controversial election that was won by a military-backed party, the military and each of the upper and lower houses of the parliament will nominate a presidential candidate. After a vetting process, the parliament will elect one of the three as president, officials of the Pyidaungsu Hluttaw said at an event that was broadcast by state media.

The other two candidates will serve as vice-presidents. The officials did not say how long the process to vet candidates would take, or when the vote for president would be held. Junta chief Min Aung Hlaing is widely expected to become the Southeast Asian country’s president.

Independent analyst Htin Kyaw Aye said he expected the general to step down as head of the military before March 30, as the country’s constitution says a civil servant cannot be a presidential candidate. “Since Min Aung Hlaing aspires to the presidency, he must step down from his current role as commander-in-chief to be eligible in terms of the 2008 constitution,” the Thailand-based analyst said. He said the military and the army-backed Union Solidarity and Development Party would continue to dominate the country’s politics after the phased election held in December and January.

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“This is not a transition to democracy, but rather a transformation from a military-clad dictatorship to a civilian-clothed one,” he said. Myanmar has been in turmoil since early 2021, when the military ousted an elected civilian government led by Nobel Peace Prize laureateAung San Suu Kyi. The coup triggered a protest movement that morphed into an armed rebellion against the junta across the country.

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