Why Is The Military Taking Control Of Myanmar?

Myanmar’s military detained leader Aung San Suu Kyi and other senior government officials in a series of early morning raids on February 1.

The announcement was made on military-owned Myawaddy TV. Article 417 of Myanmar Consitution was cited that allows the army to take over during the times of emergency. The moderator said that the COVID-19 pandemic along with civilian government’s failure to postpone the November general elections was the reason for emergency. It was the military that drafted the constitution in 2008 and retains the power under the charter at the expense of democratic rule. 

Human Rights activists describe the clause as “coup mechanism in waiting”.

Earlier, Aung San Suu Kyi’s party won the November election and bagged 396 out of 476 seats in the Parliament. However, the military refused to accept the result. It cited ‘irregularities’ in 314 townships that according to them have let voters cast multiple ballots or commit “voting malpractice”.

On the other hand, Myanmar’s election commission has confirmed the victory and rejected the army’s claims, Reuters reported.

Now, the Myanmar military has informed that general elections will be held after a one-year state of emergency that was declared earlier in the day. The military further added that during the emergency period, the Union Election Commission will be reformed and the parliamentary elections that were held in November 2020 will be reviewed.

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^{Featured image: Bloomberg}