Former Lieutenant General Thet Pon, who led the bloody crackdown on anti-coup protesters in Yangon, looks set to be rewarded with the post of Sagaing Chief Minister after being named as a Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP) election candidate.
Thet Pon was adopted as a candidate by the military’s proxy party in Sagaing City following his transfer to the civilian sector last month. The Defense Services Academy Intake 29 graduate recently opened Facebook and TikTok accounts to share content on his military service, Sagaing City, and his time as a commander in the North West Military Command.
As commander of Bureau of Special Operations (BSO) No. 5, responsible for security in Yangon, Thet Pon played a leading role in the violent suppression of peaceful protests following the 2021 military coup. He was sanctioned by the European Union in 2022. He also oversaw the arrest, torture, and execution of resistance members across Yangon Region.
He was appointed by coup leader Min Aung Hlaing to oversee reconstruction efforts in Sagaing following the March 28 earthquake.
“I was honored to be given this responsibility for my hometown, and I’ve stood together with my city full-time,” he wrote of his role.
Thet Pon joins a wave of other recently retired lieutenant generals named as USDP candidates for the election, which the junta’s poll commission plans to hold in phases starting December 28.
Lt. Gen. Kan Myint Than, a USDP candidate from Ayeyarwady Region, has also opened social media accounts as campaigning gets under way.
He previously served as Chief of Defense Industries, overseeing the production of munitions—including bombs and internationally banned cluster munitions—routinely used in regime airstrikes on civilians. The Tamar Institute of Development (TID) called for international sanctions against him on May 30.
Lt. Gen. Phone Myat (Officer Training School intake 73) will contest in Mandalay Region after recently retiring as Chief of Staff (Army). Before that, he served in the Office of the Commander-in-Chief and was responsible for arming pro-junta Pyu Saw Htee militias. He was promoted to Chief of Staff in July before swapping his uniform for civilian clothes and is reportedly being considered for a chief minister post.
Retired senior general and current USDP Vice Chair Myo Zaw Thein will run in Pauk Khaung Township, Bago Region. He met with local residents there on August 29 and called for cooperation to ensure the election’s success and as he launched campaigning activities.
The junta’s Union Election Commission (UEC) says the first phase of elections will be held on December 28 across 102 townships nationwide.
The USDP’s roster of candidates dwarfs those of its rivals in an election that has been denounced by anti-regime groups—including ethnic armed groups—as well as western countries, international rights groups and election watchdogs, as a sham aimed at cementing military rule. The junta has dissolved the National League for Democracy, which won landslides at the last three national elections, and imprisoned its leaders, including Daw Aung San Suu Kyi.
