The junta-turned-new administration plans to re-examine and select new village and ward administrators who were appointed in Mon State following the coup, sources close to the junta said.

The junta aims to complete the selection of new community administrators by May, with the necessary oversight committees expected to form in the coming days.

The junta, now operating under the guise of a civilian government, has begun selecting and appointing new administrators, citing the Ward and Village Administration Law.

In Mon State, sources close to the matter reported that individuals seeking administrator positions are attempting to bribe township-, district-, and state-level officials, as well as officials from the ruling Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP), with amounts reaching hundreds of millions of MMK.

Those seeking these positions value power more than the title itself. Some are also pursuing these administrator roles because they make it easy to earn under-the-table money and engage in corruption.

The law, amended in 2016, stipulates that the term of office for ward and village administrators is the same as that of the President.

The law also states that when the President begins a new term, new village and ward administrators must be appointed and responsibilities must be transferred to those newly selected officials.

After the coup, a large number of administrators in Mon State stepped down. The junta also arrested and jailed officials who opposed the takeover, replacing them with people loyal to it and its allies.

Mon State is divided into 10 townships, 468 ward and village tracts, and a total of 1,147 villages.