Myanmar junta unveils ‘civilian’ parliament in post-coup makeover

Myanmar’s military-backed authorities convened the first session of the lower house of parliament on Monday, marking the first time the legislature has met since the ouster of the elected civilian government of Aung San Suu Kyi in February 2021. The Pyithu Hluttaw (House of Representatives) assembled Monday morning at the parliament complex in Naypyitaw, following controversial elections organised by the junta earlier this year. The session was temporarily chaired by Nanda Kyaw Swa, who announced that all 373 elected lawmakers were present, allowing the session to proceed. Members of parliament then took their oaths of office and signed official pledges before beginning parliamentary proceedings. Lawmakers subsequently elected Khin Yi, a representative from Naypyitaw’s Zeyathiri constituency, as Speaker of the Pyithu Hluttaw, while Maung Maung Ohn, a former major general, was chosen as Deputy Speaker. Khin Yi previously served as chief of the Myanmar Police Force during the rule of former military leader Senior General Than Shwe, and later became Minister for Immigration and Population under President Thein Sein’s quasi-civilian government. Following the military takeover in 2021, Khin Yi again assumed the same ministerial role under the newly installed regime. Junta chief Senior General Min Aung Hlaing removed him from the cabinet about two months before leadership changes within the military-backed Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP), returning him to the party. Deputy Speaker Maung Maung Ohn served as Minister of Information after the coup. During the Thein Sein administration, he held posts as Chief Minister of Rakhine State and Minister for Hotels and Tourism. He also served earlier as Deputy Minister for Border Affairs. All branches of the new legislature were formed through the recent general election, held under military rule. Large parts of the country were excluded from voting as they remain engulfed in armed conflict between the junta and resistance forces. Despite the appearance of a return to civilian governance, the structure of the new political system leaves effective power concentrated in the hands of Min Aung Hlaing and his close allies. Many of his loyalists now occupy key positions in the new legislature and within the USDP. Min Aung Hlaing is widely expected to be elevated to the presidency by the new parliament in the coming days, while one of his loyalist generals is anticipated to succeed him as commander-in-chief of the armed forces, consolidating the military’s grip on power. Myanmar’s Union Election Commission announced the final election results on February 4, stating that the USDP won 339 parliamentary seats—231 in the lower house and 108 in the upper house—nationwide. This gives it about 81 percent of the 420 elected civilian seats in the Union Parliament—enough to form a government without relying on the votes of the 166 military-appointed lawmakers, who automatically hold a quarter of parliamentary seats under Myanmar’s 2008 military-drafted constitution.

Myanmar junta unveils ‘civilian’ parliament in post-coup makeover

The legislature convenes for the first time in five years, with junta allies filling key posts in the wake of military-orchestrated elections

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