Min Aung Hlaing’s nomination as president is widely seen not as a legitimate democratic step, but as yet another shameless power grab by the architect of Myanmar’s military dictatorship.
According to local media reports on Monday, Myanmar’s junta chief Min Aung Hlaing was nominated as president through a parliamentary process that appears carefully engineered to further tighten his grip on the country. At the same time, the junta appointed Ye Win Oo as the new Commander-in-Chief of the Defence Services, allowing Min Aung Hlaing to shift formally from military strongman to head of state without loosening his control over the system he built.
The handover ceremony was held at Zeyathiri Beikman in Naypyidaw, but the polished formality of the event does little to hide the ugly reality behind it. Since launching the 2021 coup that overthrew the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi, Min Aung Hlaing has ruled Myanmar through force, repression, arrests, and the systematic destruction of democratic institutions.
In Monday’s vote in Naypyidaw, a legislature dominated by military appointees and allies of the junta-backed Union Solidarity and Development Party selected him as president. The result was hardly surprising. Under the military-drafted constitution, the system is already stacked in favor of the armed forces, with the military guaranteed 25 percent of parliamentary seats and outsized influence over the presidency. Rather than representing the will of the people, the process looks like a staged exercise designed to give dictatorship a constitutional mask.
The lower house nominated Min Aung Hlaing, while the upper house selected USDP lawmaker Nang Ni Ni Aye, according to Myanmar Now. Of the three candidates, the one with the most votes becomes president and the other two become vice presidents. In practice, however, this was never a real contest. It was a choreographed display meant to formalize the dominance of the man responsible for Myanmar’s ongoing political catastrophe.
This latest move comes after years of brutal military rule, the detention of elected leaders, and the crushing of civil liberties. Earlier this month, two former generals were also installed as speakers of parliament’s upper and lower houses, further exposing the junta’s attempt to dress military control in parliamentary clothing. Former police chief and junta minister Khin Yi was elected speaker of the lower chamber, while Aung Lin Dwe, a central figure in the 2021 coup, was appointed speaker of the upper chamber.
Taken together, these appointments make one thing clear: this is not a transition to civilian government, but a cynical rebranding of military dictatorship. Min Aung Hlaing’s presidency is less a sign of stability than a stark reminder that Myanmar remains trapped under the rule of the very man who helped plunge it into crisis.