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The military junta in Myanmar says it needs more time to prepare for elections, and announces that the state of emergency is therefore being extended in the country.
The measure gives the military junta the power to govern for another six months.
The military junta in Myanmar extends the state of emergency in the country for another six months. In a televised speech, junta chief Min Aung Hlaing says the extension is necessary because more time is needed to prepare for a new election.
The military junta took power on February 1 last year on the pretext that the civilian government, led by Aung San Suu Kyi, had won the 2020 elections with the help of electoral fraud. The claim was dismissed by the country’s electoral commission.
In connection with the coup, the military declared a state of emergency and announced that new elections would be held within a year. Later, the planned election was postponed until 2023.
According to the head of the junta, the military has done its “utmost to take (its) responsibility” since it took power.
However, there are serious doubts that the elections will be free and fair. Last week it became known that the junta in Myanmar had executed four prisoners, among them a former member of parliament from Aung San Suu Kyi’s party.
Thousands of people have been killed and imprisoned in the military’s brutal attempt to quell the massive popular protests following the coup.