Myanmar’s military has officially postponed an election promised by August this year after extending a state of emergency it imposed in the aftermath of its 2021 coup.
In a statement on state television on Monday, the military cited ongoing violence as the reason for the election delay.
“In order to have an election that is free and fair and also to be able to vote without any fear, necessary security arrangements are still needed and so the period for the state of emergency has been extended,” the statement said.
The announcement amounted to an admission that the military does not exercise enough control to stage the polls and has failed to subdue widespread opposition to its rule, which includes increasingly challenging armed resistance as well as nonviolent protests and civil disobedience.
The state of emergency was declared when troops arrested elected leader Aung San Suu Kyi as well as top officials from her government and members of her National League for Democracy (NLD) party on February 1, 2021. The military claimed widespread fraud in the election held in November 2020, which returned the NLD to power, for its power grab.
The takeover reversed years of progress towards democracy after five decades of military rule in Myanmar.
Post from www.aljazeera.com