Myanmar’s junta will form a new entity to oversee both the military and civilian administration, a move experts say will allow paramount ruler Min Aung Hlaing to become president without loosening his grip on the powerful armed forces.
Just days after the completion of a final phase of an election that will see a parliament convene next month and power transferred to a nominally civilian government, the junta announced its plans in state media late Tuesday (Feb 3) to create the five-member Union Consultative Council.
Its mandate is exceptionally broad, granting it control over every critical component of national security and the legislative process, said Naing Min Khant, program associate at the Institute for Strategy and Policy – Myanmar think-tank.
“SUPREME AUTHORITY”
“The formation of the Union Consultative Council represents a significant institutional shift, likely to create a ‘super-body’ designed to hold supreme authority above the executive, legislative, and judicial branches,” Naing Min Khant said.
A spokesperson for the junta did not answer calls seeking comment on the council.
Min Aung Hlaing took control of Myanmar in a 2021 coup that ousted a civilian government led by Nobel Peace Prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi and triggered widespread protests that expanded into a nationwide civil war.
More than 93,000 people have since been killed in violence in Myanmar, according to the Armed Conflict Location and Event Data Project.
The 69-year-old Min Aung Hlaing has indicated he intends to hand over “state responsibilities” to the next government. He is widely expected to become president.
The military-backed Union Solidarity and Development Party swept the election, winning 81 per cent of available upper and lower house seats in a contest criticised by the United Nations, some Western nations and rights groups as a one-sided exercise to keep the ruling generals in power through proxies.
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