BANGKOK (AP) — General Min Aung Hlaing, the military leader who toppled Myanmar’s civilian administration in 2021 and maintained authoritarian control for five years, has been chosen as the nation’s president by parliament on Friday.
While this represents a technical shift back to elected leadership, critics view it as a calculated strategy to preserve military dominance following elections that opposition groups and international monitors characterized as illegitimate and unfair.
Though Min Aung Hlaing faced two other candidates for the presidency, his victory was essentially predetermined given that military-aligned party members and army appointees control a decisive parliamentary majority.
Parliamentary Speaker Aung Lin Dwe revealed that Min Aung Hlaing secured 429 votes from the total 584 cast, while his competitors were appointed as vice presidents.
The senior general had previously stepped down from his commander-in-chief role since Myanmar’s constitution bars the president from simultaneously serving as the military’s top leader. His trusted associate, General Ye Win Oo, assumed the influential military position.
At 69 years old, Min Aung Hlaing served as Myanmar’s military commander since 2011. Even before deposing Suu Kyi’s administration, he wielded considerable influence under the military-drafted constitution.
Legislative members gained their seats through elections conducted in three stages during December and January. Key opposition movements, including Suu Kyi’s previously governing National League for Democracy, were prevented from participating or chose to boycott what they considered rigged conditions. Suu Kyi remains imprisoned.
