Myanmar’s military government has ended the state of emergency it imposed after the 2021 coup and says it is restructuring the machinery of government ahead of a December election. The move marks the latest attempt by Senior Gen. Min Aung Hlaing to recast military rule as a transition to ballots, even as the country remains locked in civil war and much of the opposition says the process will not be free or fair.
The announcement, reported by AP, came as the final six-month emergency decree was due to expire. Officials said existing bodies created after the takeover, including the State Administration Council, had been dissolved and their functions handed to the National Defense and Security Council. The military also created a new State Security and Peace Commission to oversee the election process, a move that keeps Min Aung Hlaing central to the system even as he gives up the title of prime minister.
The government has said elections will be held within six months of the end of emergency rule, but it has not settled the final date. The AP report said the vote is expected in December, though the exact day remains unclear. Critics immediately questioned whether any ballot held under wartime conditions, with opposition leaders detained and the media tightly constrained, could produce a legitimate result.
The military’s 2021 seizure of power ousted Aung San Suu Kyi’s elected government and triggered mass protests that were met with lethal force. That crackdown helped spark armed resistance and widen the conflict into a nationwide civil war. AP cited data from the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners showing thousands killed and tens of thousands arrested since the coup. The military disputes those figures.
The restructuring also appeared aimed at preserving continuity at the top. Min Aung Hlaing is stepping aside as prime minister but remains acting president, giving him even greater influence over the state. The military’s spokesman said the change was intended to prepare the country for elections, while opponents said it only repackaged military rule.
The announcement also included fresh emergency measures in dozens of townships across several regions. AP reported that martial law or states of emergency would be imposed for 90 days in 63 townships across nine of the country’s 14 regions, many in areas controlled by armed opposition forces.
For the junta, the timetable matters politically as much as administratively. It has repeatedly delayed elections it originally promised for 2023 and now says will happen this year. For opponents, the broader question is whether the vote is meant to transfer power or to legitimize a military-led state that still commands the security forces, the courts and much of the bureaucracy.
The new structure suggests the latter. Even after formally ending the emergency, the military remains embedded in every major decision point.
