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Myanmar’s state of emergency ends as junta prepares for controversial election
Opposition groups are set to boycott the December poll, which a UN expert has already branded ‘a fraud’
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Myanmar’s junta ended the country’s state of emergency on Thursday, ramping up preparations for a December election being boycotted by opposition groups and criticised by international monitors.
The military declared a state of emergency in February 2021 as it deposed the civilian government of democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi, sparking a multi-sided civil war that has claimed thousands of lives.
The order gave junta chief Min Aung Hlaing supreme power over the legislature, executive and judiciary – but he has recently touted elections as an off-ramp to the conflict.
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Opposition groups including ex-lawmakers ousted in the coup have pledged to snub the poll, which a UN expert last month dismissed as “a fraud” designed to legitimise the military’s continuing rule.
“The state of emergency is abolished today in order for the country to hold elections on the path to a multiparty democracy,” junta spokesman Zaw Min Tun said in a voice message shared with reporters.
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“Elections will be held within six months,” he added.
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