Myanmar military says elections will be held after one year of emergency: Report

The Myanmar military has informed that general elections will be held after a one-year state of emergency declared earlier in the day. The military said that during the emergency period, the Union Election Commission will be reformed and the parliamentary elections held in November 2020 will be reviewed, ANI reported quoting Xinhua. It is worth noting that the state power in Myanmar has been handed over to Commander-in-Chief of Defence Services Min Aung Hlaing, while the nation’s first Vice President Myint Swe will be serving as the acting president of the country. 

Myanmar’s military has detained leader Aung San Suu Kyi and other senior government officials in a series of early morning raids on Monday. The Myanmar Army has said that it carried out the detentions in response to fraud in last November’s general election that Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy (NLD) won by a landslide. Along with Suu Kyi, President U Win Myint and other senior officials of Myanmar have also been detained. 

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Military ‘will abide by constitution’ 

All communications to Naypyitaw appeared to have been disrupted and Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy party could not be reached. All banks nationwide have shut down, reported The Bangkok Post. According to an announcement, all members of the Myanmar Banks Association are to close their banks unanimously, starting from Monday. As per reports, several people were also seen lining up at ATM’s in Yangon mind expectations of a cash crunch in the coming days.

READ: Aung San Suu Kyi: From Nobel Laureate To Being Under House Arrest, What Led To Her Fall?

Myanmar lawmakers were to gather Monday in the capital Naypyitaw for the first session of Parliament since last year's election, with tensions lingering over recent comments by the military over 'taking an action' that were widely seen as threatening a coup. The military alleged that the elections were full of ‘irregularities’ and questioned the veracity of at least 9 million votes cast in November 2020 even though the country’s election commission rejected the claims of fraud. Myanmar military stressed that it will protect and abide by its constitution.

Meanwhile, following the reports of the arrest, countries including India, US, Australia and Canada have condemned the unlawful detention. Expressing deep concern, India said it believes that the rule of law and the democratic process must be upheld. The United States, on the other hand, vowed to take action against those responsible. White House Spokesperson Jen Psaki said that any attempt to alter the outcome of recent elections or impede Myanmar's democratic transition will be opposed by the US.

READ: Myanmar Military Coup: World Leaders Call For Immediate Release Of Aung San Suu Kyi

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