Myanmar Junta Chief Min Aung Hlaing Elected President

Myanmar's military leader Senior General Min Aung Hlaing has been elected president by the country's pro-military parliament, formalizing his control five years after the 2021 coup.

Key points

• Min Aung Hlaing, who served as commander-in-chief since 2011, resigned from his military post on Monday prior to the vote.
• The election follows a lopsided poll in December and January that was widely criticized by Western governments as a sham.
• The president-elect appointed Ye Win Oo, a former intelligence chief, as his successor to lead the armed forces.
• Anti-junta groups, including ethnic minority armies and members of the ousted administration, have formed a new coalition to oppose the military government.

Why it matters

The transition to a civilian-guised presidency is viewed by analysts as a strategic effort by the junta to consolidate power and gain international legitimacy amid an ongoing civil war.