YANGON — Myanmar’s junta has lifted the state of emergency and announced elections for December, Arab News reported Thursday.
The military declared a state of emergency in February 2021, ousting the civilian government of democratic leader Aung San Suu Kyi and triggering a multifront civil war that has killed thousands.
In a voice message to reporters, junta spokesman Zaw Min Tun said the state of emergency was lifted Thursday to allow elections on the path to multiparty democracy. The vote will be held within six months, he said.
Analysts predict junta chief Min Aung Hlaing will retain the role of president or armed forces chief after the election, effectively extending his time as ruler.
In a statement published Thursday in the state newspaper The Global New Light of Myanmar, Min Aung Hlaing said the first chapter had already been completed and the second was now beginning.
Another section of the statement said the upcoming election would be held in December and that every effort would be made to give all eligible voters the opportunity to cast their ballots.
Opposition groups, including former lawmakers ousted in the coup, have said they will reject the vote. A U.N. expert in June called the planned election a fraud designed to legitimize continued military rule.
বাংলায় মূল প্রতিবেদন পড়ুন · Read the original Bengali report