Myanmar announces formation of new Union government

Myanmar junta chief Min Aung Hlaing on Thursday formed a new union government and State Security and Peace Commission. According to Myanmar Radio and Television, the Union government is led by U Nyo Saw as Prime Minister, and the State Security and Peace Commission is chaired by Senior General Min Aung Hlaing. The NDSC also decided to annul the order transferring the sovereign power to the Commander-in-Chief of Defence Services. Zaw Min Tun, a spokesperson of Myanmar’s State Administration Council, said, the NDSC had decided to end the state of emergency to hold general elections. In February 2021, Myanmar’s then-Acting President U Myint Swe had declared a one-year state of emergency and transferred sovereign power to the Commander-in-Chief of Defence Services with Min Aung Hlaing as its chairman. The NDSC has made multiple six-month extensions until July 31 this year.
As per reports, the regime is working to organize a poll in December, and the Constitution requires the regime to return power to the NDSC six months ahead of the planned vote. The interim government that will remain in power until the formation of a parliament and a government after the planned elections in December.  Hlaing has taken the helm of the newly formed commission. But he has stepped down as prime minister.
Aung Hlaing claimed that his regime had surmounted “the first chapter” in its efforts toward establishing a “multi-party democracy chosen by the people.” “The first chapter”—the four-and-a-half years under the SAC’s rule following the 2021 coup—has seen a country engulfed in civil war with a failing economy, massive displacement, poverty and insecurity, among other problems. Hlaing called for proceeding to the “second chapter”—which is interpreted by many as his bid to retain power in a civilian guise through the December poll.