Myanmar’s military ruler Min Aung Hlaing, who seized power in a 2021 coup, is presiding over a poll dismissed by critics as a sham.
YANGON: Myanmar’s top general Min Aung Hlaing was months from retirement when he deposed the democratic government nearly five years ago.
The 69-year-old soldier, who became military chief in 2011, is now presiding over a poll due to start Sunday.
He has promised the election will return peace and democracy despite widespread scepticism at home and abroad.
Min Aung Hlaing rose through the ranks, leading campaigns against ethnic rebel insurrections near trade crossings with China.
He was already persona non grata in many countries before the 2021 coup for commanding a 2017 military crackdown on the Rohingya minority.
That operation drove around 750,000 people into Bangladesh.
He has been heavily sanctioned and faces an International Criminal Court arrest warrant for alleged crimes against humanity.
Min Aung Hlaing denies allegations of human rights abuses, saying military operations were justified to root out insurgents.
He claimed Aung San Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy party won a 2020 landslide through voter fraud.
Analysts said he was likely anxious about the military’s waning power at the time of the coup.
Security forces crushed initial pro-democracy protests, triggering a civil war that continues today.
According to the Armed Conflict Location & Event Data project, 90,000 have been killed on all sides since the coup.
That number almost certainly includes conscripts the military has begun forcibly recruiting.
Min Aung Hlaing ruled by fiat over four years of emergency rule after seizing power.
He ended the state of emergency this summer and handed back power to the president’s office, which he also occupies.
Many believe the election is most likely to see a power transfer from Min Aung Hlaing to himself.
