Myanmar military chief Min Aung Hlaing eyeing presidency, may quit army post

Myanmar's military supremo, Senior General Min Aung Hlaing, may soon retire as commander-in-chief and take over as President. Top military sources told this writer that Min Aung Hlaing will choose his successor in the military to ensure his tenure as President is smooth and unfettered.

The BBC Burmese service has reported that Myanmar's current foreign minister, Than Swe, recently told his Thai counterpart, Sihasak Phuangketkeow, that a new commander-in-chief will replace Min Aung Hlaing, who has held the position since 2011. Sihasak could not be reached for comment, but top military officials told this writer that Min Aung Hlaing's plans to take over as President are "very much on”.

In the recent national election described by many as a “sham”, the military-backed Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP) won an overwhelming majority in Myanmar’s two legislative chambers. The USDP secured 232 of the 263 seats up for grabs in the lower house and 109 of the 157 seats announced so far in the upper chamber.

Parliament to elect president in March

A spokesman for the country’s military junta, Zaw Min Tun, said Myanmar’s parliament is now expected to convene to elect a president in March, with a new government set to take over in April, according to a report in the pro-military Eleven Media Group.

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According to the military-drafted 2008 Constitution, the commander-in-chief must be appointed by the president on the recommendation of the National Defence and Security Council, and that the president cannot simultaneously hold other positions.

Min Aung Hlaing’s presidential ambitions

The junta formed a new body called the Union Consultative Council in early February to oversee the new government, raising the possibility that Min Aung Hlaing may chair the council as president. The military chief has been known to harbour presidential ambitions since at least 2015, and his retirement from the armed forces would be a signal that he intends to finally make it happen.

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The previous dictator, Senior General Than Shwe, retired as commander-in-chief of the armed forces in 2011 after handing over power to a government formed by the military proxy Union Solidarity and Development Party, following the tightly-controlled 2010 election. The USDP administration was headed by retired general Thein Sein, who oversaw major political reforms. He handed over power to the National League for Democracy (NLD) after the party achieved a landslide victory in the 2015 election.

Many military insiders say that Min Aung Hlaing persistently signalled NLD chief Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi's of his presidential ambitions and was upset by her persistent refusal.

Feb 2021 coup

"That is why he decided to pull off the coup in Feb 2021 when the NLD won a decisive victory in the 2020 national election," said a top military official, but on condition of strict anonymity.

The coup happened a day before the NLD government was to assume office for a second successive term. Suu Kyi and many of her party colleagues have since been in prison on trumped-up charges.

Also Read: How Myanmar’s military crackdown has galvanised a defiant press corps

Min Aung Hlaing taking over as President may also help the supremo consolidate power by picking a trusted confidante as the next chief and then packing the incoming cabinet with loyalists who have won the parliament polls on theUSDP ticket.

Rebels to intensify armed campaign

But Min Aung Hlaing's consolidation of power is bad news for Myanmar. All the country's powerful ethnic rebel armies fighting military rule since the 2021 coup have said they will intensify their armed campaign to defeat the Burmese army Tatmadaw.

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The National Unity Government, which claims to be the "true representative of the Myanmar people",, has already rubbished the elections and vowed to bring down the military junta.