Military’s Role In Politics Necessary: Myanmar Junta Chief

Myanmar’s junta chief Min Aung Hlaing has said that the Tatmadaw (Myanmar’s military) must continue to take a leadership role in the country’s politics and maintain its oversight position as the “guardian” of the country. The military’s role in politics was necessary for the sake of peace and stability, he said during a meeting with military personnel and their families, as reported by The Irrawaddy. Min Aung Hlaing has been working on switching the country to a proportional representation (PR) system for the next election, which the regime plans to hold next year, after the National League for Democracy won landslide victories in both elections held under the first-past-the-post system. The PR system makes it much harder for popular parties to secure a large number of seats in the legislature, thereby enabling the military—whose appointees are already guaranteed 25 per cent of seats in the legislature under the army-drafted 2008 constitution—to “lawfully” take control of Myanmar’s political system.