Myanmar’s newly installed government remains overwhelmingly dominated by military figures and allies despite its civilian rebranding, according to a report entitled Burma’s Rebranded Military Regime released by Burma Campaign UK on 22 April.
The report said the administration formed after the 2025–2026 junta-organised election leaves real power firmly in the hands of the armed forces and its proxy political network.
It shows that President Min Aung Hlaing and one of the two vice presidents are serving or former military officers, while the second vice president is a longtime member of the military-backed Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP).
According to the report, 26 of 30 union ministers – about 86 percent – are either former military officers or members of the USDP. Ten ministers have been sanctioned by foreign governments for alleged roles in human rights violations or the 2021 coup.
The report also said military influence extends across parliament. In the two national legislatures, 505 of 586 seats are held by serving military appointees or USDP lawmakers, giving the bloc about 86 percent of all seats.
Under Myanmar’s 2008 constitution, the military is guaranteed 25 percent of parliamentary seats. The 2026 election outcome delivered additional seats to military-aligned parties in an electoral environment wherein voting was not held in many constituencies affected by conflict.
Burma Campaign UK said the new political system should be seen as a continuation of military rule rather than a democratic transition. It argued that the reshuffle was designed to ease international pressure while preserving the armed forces’ control over the state.
The findings add to criticism of the junta’s post-election roadmap, which opponents and rights groups have dismissed as lacking credibility amid widespread conflict, mass displacement, and the detention of political opponents.
Myanmar has been in turmoil since the military overthrew the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi in 2021, triggering nationwide resistance and a deepening humanitarian crisis.
Military authorities have defended the election and subsequent transfer to a constitutional government as a return to normal democratic governance.
But the report concluded that the latest administration represents a rebranding exercise in which the military “never reforms”, warning that cosmetic institutional change has not altered the concentration of power.
