Myanmar’s military government on Thursday officially ended the state of emergency imposed more than 4 years ago,.The move signals plans to hold national elections by year-end, though opposition groups have vowed to boycott the poll, which many believe will further entrench military control.Junta leader Min Aung Hlaing signed an order on Thursday cancelling the emergency rule that began in February 2021 when the military ousted the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi. At the time, the generals claimed widespread fraud in the 2020 election, which Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy had won in a landslide. No evidence of fraud was ever provided.”The state of emergency is abolished today in order for the country to hold elections on the path to a multi-party democracy,” junta spokesman Zaw Min Tun was quoted as saying to news agency AFP. “Elections will be held within six months,” he added.Despite the announcement, Min Aung Hlaing remains both armed forces chief and acting president, consolidating his control over the country’s political and military structures. “We have already passed the first chapter,” Min Aung Hlaing said during a speech in Naypyidaw, reported in the state-run Global New Light of Myanmar. “Now, we are starting the second chapter,” he told members of the junta’s administrative council during an “honorary ceremony”.The military has formed a new “Union Government” and a separate “National Security and Peace Commission” to oversee defence and manage the election. Both bodies are headed by Min Aung Hlaing.Although no exact polling date has been announced, preparations are underway, including party registration and training on electronic voting machines.Opposition groups, including former lawmakers ousted in the coup, have pledged to boycott the election. Security concerns may further limit the credibility of the poll. A census last year failed to gather data from around 19 million of Myanmar’s 51 million people, citing security constraints. The military has warned of up to 10 years in jail for anyone disrupting the electoral process.Meanwhile, the junta is offering cash rewards to rebels who agree to surrender and “return to the legal fold” ahead of the vote.
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