NAYPYITAW, March 20 — Myanmar's Parliament will begin the process of electing a new president on March 30, a vote many analysts expect will be won by the head of the junta that seized power in a 2021 coup.
Following a controversial election won by a military-backed party, the military and each of the Upper and Lower Houses of Parliament will nominate a presidential candidate.
After a vetting process, the Parliament will elect one of the three as president, officials of the Pyidaungsu Hluttaw said at an event today, which was broadcast by state media. The other two candidates will serve as vice presidents.
The officials did not say how long the vetting process for candidates would take or when the presidential vote would be held.
Junta chief Min Aung Hlaing is widely expected to become the Southeast Asian country's president.
Independent analyst Htin Kyaw Aye said he expected the general to step down as head of the military before March 30, as the country's constitution bars a civil servant from running for president.
"Since Min Aung Hlaing aspires to the presidency, he must step down from his current role as Commander-in-Chief to be eligible under the 2008 constitution," the Thailand-based analyst said.
He added that the military and the army-backed Union Solidarity and Development Party would continue to dominate the country's politics after the phased election held in December last year and in January.
"This is not a transition to democracy, but rather a transformation from a military-clad dictatorship to a civilian-clothed one," Htin said.
Myanmar has been in turmoil since early 2021, when the military ousted an elected civilian government led by Nobel Peace Prize laureate Aung San Suu Kyi. The coup triggered a protest movement that morphed into an armed rebellion against the junta across the country.
