Myanmar military forms caretaker govt with army chief as PM

Myanmar’s powerful military chief, Senior General Min Aung Hlaing

Online desk: Myanmar’s military announced Sunday the formation of a caretaker government to rule until the next general election in 2023, with army chief Senior Gen Min Aung Hlaing as its prime minister, reports Kyodo News.

The commander-in-chief’s deputy will be Vice Senior Gen Soe Win, who also serves directly under him on the State Administration Council, according to an order issued by the ruling body six months after the Feb 1 military coup.

The council has governed since the coup that overthrew Aung San Suu Kyi’s government, reversing the country’s democratization less than a decade after its transition to civilian rule.

Earlier Sunday, the commander-in-chief promised in a televised speech to hold a “free and fair multiparty general election” by August 2023 at the latest, after the two-year state of emergency expires.

The council last month cancelled the results of the previous election held on Nov 8 last year, in which Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy won a majority of seats in both houses of the parliament.

In his speech, Min Aung Hlaing re-asserted that the last election was rigged, the military’s rationale for seizing power.

More than 900 people have been killed in the military’s crackdown following the coup.

Suu Kyi remains detained along with former President Win Myint and other senior officials of her government. She faces a slew of charges, while her party faces possible dissolution for allegedly masterminding vote-rigging.M