Senior General Min Aung Hlaing, the coup leader Junta chief again affirmed his commitment to stage a general election in a message he conveyed during the 76th Independence Day celebration on January 4th.
In his message, Min Aung Hlaing declared his intention to oversee a well-organized general election in spite of the reality, that his dictatorship has lost control over 14 townships and vast swathes of countryside, now under the anti-coup revolutionary movement.
A nationwide census will be conducted in preparation for the upcoming election. Min Aung Hlaing addressed the census matter in his New Year's speech preceding the Independence Day message. He stated that the election will utilize ballots derived from the census.
Currently resistance forces are actively launching offensives to capture additional towns, occasionally encircling and trapping Military Council troops. Despite ongoing setbacks on the battlefield, the Military Council chief has reiterated his commitment to conduct an election.
With over 330 cities and towns in Myanmar, the Military Council has experienced a loss of more than 5 percent of them within just a few months, and an estimated 50% loss of control of over voters.
The election had been scheduled for 2023 but had to be postponed because of the escalating conflict. Since then the regime’s capacity to conduct elections has further dwindled.
On the very day Min Aung Hlaing released the Independence Day message, the Arakan Army (AA) proclaimed its determination to eradicate all the Military Council camps and bases situated in Rakhine State.
