The military regime has extended for six more months the state of emergency that has been imposed in Myanmar since February 1, 2021, military coup, official media reported today.

Junta leader Min Aung Hlaing, who has been in power since the coup, has asked members of the military government to “keep in force the state of emergency for another six months” until February 2023, according to the Global New Light newspaper of Myanmar.

The eleven members of the national defence and security council supported the proposal unanimously, the newspaper report added. The junta declared a state of emergency, which gives it absolute powers, after the 2021 coup that overthrew the government of Aung San Suu Kyi.

The military justified the coup by citing massive fraud, which was allegedly committed in the election won by Aung San Suu Kyi’s party, the National League for Democracy (NLD), in November 2020. It promised new elections to be held in a year.

Election observers said there was no sign of fraud in the 2020 elections. While the country is mired in civil war, he reiterated that commitment and assured that the state of emergency would be lifted before August 2023.

In a speech this morning, Min Aung Hlaing did not refer to a date. He said that Myanmar must become a peaceful and stable country again in order for elections to be held.

The general also referred to a reform of the electoral system, the replacement of the majority system, which favored the NLD, with a more proportional one.

Myanmar’s military junta, often accused of atrocities, continues its bloody crackdown on its opponents, in which more than 2,000 civilians have been killed and more than 15,000 arrested, according to the NGO Political Prisoners Aid Association.

Aung San Suu Kyi, 77, who was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1991, was arrested when the coup took place and is facing trial on various charges that could mean a total of 150 years in prison, APA MPA reports.

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