Military Junta Leader Says Myanmar's Next Election May Not Be Held Nationally

Senior General Min Aung Hlaing. (Wikimedia Commons/Vadim Savitsky)

JAKARTA - Myanmar's top military general said his country plans to hold elections if the situation there is stable and peaceful, but they may not be able to be held nationally, when the junta is struggling to contain rebellions in various fields.

The military, in power since a coup three years ago, still plans to return the country to democratic rule, Junta Leader Senior General Min Aung Hlaing told Russian news agency TASS, according to a transcript of an interview broadcast by Myanmar state media.

"If this country is peaceful and stable, we have plans to hold elections in as many relevant regions as we can, even though these elections are not held nationally according to law," said Senior General Min Aung Hlaing, reported by Reuters, March 25.

The junta has previously repeatedly extended emergency rule every six months, citing the need to stabilize the country and crush its opponents, whom it describes as terrorists.

The generals are facing their biggest challenge since first taking power in the former British colony in 1962, with a youth-led pro-democracy uprising turning into an armed resistance movement after a deadly crackdown on a wave of protests.

Myanmar's military has relaunched some of its oldest fighting with ethnic minority soldiers in northern and eastern Myanmar, accused by opponents of systematic atrocities, something the military denies.

They have deployed heavy artillery and fighter jets to try to suppress militias allied with the shadow government and ethnic minority rebels, with more than 2.3 million people displaced since post-coup unrest, according to the UN.

Meanwhile, critics and Western countries say the elections in Myanmar will be futile, with more than 40 parties disbanded since the coup and prohibitive regulations making it difficult for new parties to form or challenge military proxies.