Myanmar’s military government on Friday announced another six-month extension of its mandate to rule in preparation for elections it has said will be held this year, as the country enters its fifth year of crisis.
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However, it did not announce an exact date for the polls.
The military declared a state of emergency on February 1, 2021, when it arrested the country’s leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, and top officials from her government in an army takeover which reversed years of progress toward democracy after five decades of earlier military rule.
The takeover sparked an armed resistance movement, with powerful ethnic minority militias and people’s defence forces that support Myanmar’s main opposition now controlling large parts of the country.
The military government is currently facing its greatest challenge since taking power and is on the defensive in much of the country. However, it is still able to hold onto much of central Myanmar and big cities including the capital, Naypyidaw.
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State-run MRTV television reported on Friday that the National Defense and Security Council decided unanimously to grant an extension of emergency rule after Senior General Ming Aung Hlaing, the head of the military government, argued that more time was needed to restore stability to the country to hold national elections.