Myanmar’s armed forces on Monday said they have carried a coup d’etat and detained de-facto leader Aung San Suu Kyi and other politicians after weeks of heightened tensions owing to a disputed election. The military, which ruled Myanmar for nearly five decades, said it has again taken control of the country under a state of emergency for one year, handing power to commander-in-chief Min Aung Hlaing.
National League for Democracy (NLD) leader Suu Kyi led the party to a landslide victory in the 2020 elections but the military alleged the polls were marred with irregularities, calling the results invalid. The military had questioned the authenticity of nearly 9 million votes, suggesting the possibility of “voting malpractice.”
It demanded the government or the United Elections Commission (UEC), a national level electoral commission responsible for organising and overseeing elections, to prove it at a special session. However, the UEC asserted that there was no evidence of electoral fraud, saying each vote was “counted transparently and witnessed by election candidates, election staff, the media, observers and other civil society organizations”.
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After the demand was rejected, the military, which is also known as the Tatmadaw, last week signalled to seize the power to settle the claims of irregularities. The diplomatic missions of several Western countries, including the US, and the Delegation of the EU had warned against a coup, urging the military to adhere to democratic norms. They registered their opposition to any attempt to alter the election results or impede the democratic transition.
{{/usCountry}}After the demand was rejected, the military, which is also known as the Tatmadaw, last week signalled to seize the power to settle the claims of irregularities. The diplomatic missions of several Western countries, including the US, and the Delegation of the EU had warned against a coup, urging the military to adhere to democratic norms. They registered their opposition to any attempt to alter the election results or impede the democratic transition.
{{/usCountry}}However, the military intervened in the democratic process just before the first session of parliament since the November elections. The newly-elected lawmakers would have approved the next civilian government during the parliament session which was scheduled for February 1. Meanwhile, the agency in charge of air travel in Myanmar announced that it has stopped all passenger flights in the country.
What is the military’s stake in Myanmar’s government?
The Tatmadaw drafted the 2008 Constitution after decades of military rule but inserted provisions to safeguard its own role in national affairs. The military reserved 25 per cent of seats in the parliament for itself and also fielded a political party as its proxy to contest elections. This made sure that the military maintained its supremacy in the country. But the poor performance of the military-backed Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP) and a sweep by NLD didn’t go well with the armed forces, especially at a time when state counsellor Suu Kyi has emerged as a strong nationalist leader. The military has now pledged to hold fresh elections.