Myanmar to hold elections

Junta ends nation’s state of emergency

- 

Myanmar’s junta ended the country’s state of emergency yesterday, ramping up preparations for a December election being boycotted by opposition groups and criticised by international monitors.

The military declared a state of emergency in February 2021 as it deposed the civilian government of democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi, sparking a many-sided civil war which has claimed thousands of lives.

The order gave junta chief Min Aung Hlaing supreme power over the legislature, executive and judiciary — but he has recently touted elections as an off-ramp to the conflict.

Opposition groups, including ex-lawmakers ousted in the coup, have pledged to snub the poll, which a UN expert last month dismissed as “a fraud” designed to legitimise the military's continuing rule.