Myanmar military declares one-year state of emergency

Myanmar’s military declared a one-year state of emergency today, handing power to a former general after arresting civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi and other senior officials, Report states, citing Xinhua.

An announcement read out on military-owned Myawaddy TV said the move was needed to preserve the “stability”, accusing the country’s election commission of failing to address “huge irregularities” in a November election.

Suu Kyi, Myanmar’s de facto leader, was detained in the early hours, and the president and other top politicians after weeks of tensions with the military over the allegations of vote-rigging.

“The UEC (election commission) failed to solve huge voter lists irregularities in the multiparty general election which was held on November 8th, 2020,” said the statement signed by the new acting president Myint Swe, a former general who had been vice-president.