31-7-2024 (YANGON) Myanmar’s military junta has announced a six-month extension of the state of emergency, effectively pushing back the prospect of fresh elections. The decision, revealed on Wednesday, 31 July, marks another setback for the country’s faltering democratic aspirations.
The Southeast Asian nation has been mired in chaos since the military coup of February 2021, which abruptly terminated a decade-long experiment with democracy. The coup ignited widespread protests, leading to a brutal crackdown on dissent that continues to this day.
Three and a half years on, the junta finds itself grappling with an increasingly robust armed opposition. Recent months have seen the military suffer a series of humiliating defeats at the hands of an alliance of ethnic minority armed groups, particularly in the country’s north and west.
Citing “terrorist acts” by its opponents, the junta-controlled National Defence and Security Council unanimously agreed to prolong the state of emergency. This decision, broadcast on state-run MRTV, effectively scuppers any immediate hopes for a return to civilian rule.
Junta chief Min Aung Hlaing justified the extension as necessary “to prepare valid and accurate ballots” for future elections, now tentatively slated for 2025. The regime also cited the need to conduct a population census and “continue the implementation of work to be done”, though details remained vague.
Under Myanmar’s military-drafted 2008 constitution, which the junta claims remains in force, authorities are obligated to hold fresh elections within six months of lifting a state of emergency. This latest extension, however, suggests that the military has no intention of relinquishing power in the near future.
The junta’s hold on power has been increasingly challenged on the battlefield. In a significant development last week, the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA) claimed to have captured the strategically important northern town of Lashio, a crucial trade hub on the route to China. While the junta denies this claim, the loss of Lashio and its regional military command would represent a severe blow to the regime’s authority.
This potential setback follows January’s capture of Laukkai by the MNDAA, where approximately 2,000 junta troops surrendered in what is considered one of the military’s most significant defeats in decades.
The ongoing conflict has exacted a heavy toll on Myanmar’s civilian population. According to UN figures, fighting between the military and its opponents has forced 2.7 million people to flee their homes. A local monitoring group reports that over 5,400 people have been killed and 27,000 arrested in the junta’s relentless crackdown on dissent since the coup.
The military seized power in 2021, citing unsubstantiated allegations of fraud in the 2020 elections, which saw Aung San Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy (NLD) secure a landslide victory. Since then, the junta has repeatedly extended the state of emergency, each time pushing the prospect of elections further into the future.
