Pressing the Flesh
Junta boss Min Aung Hlaing sought to cast himself alongside national heroes during a visit to his birthplace on Tuesday, part of preparations for an election widely viewed as a vehicle to achieve his long-held ambition of becoming president.
As his Union Election Commission presses ahead with designating constituencies and announcing poll dates, the coup-maker told candidates in Magwe Region’s Minbu District they “must plan and carry out practical measures for regional development in advance.”
Born in Minbu in 1956, Min Aung Hlaing was eager to bask in the reflected glory of the town’s most famous sons. He praised Minbu as a cradle of tradition and talent, citing literary icon Minbu U Awba Tha—renowned for his works on Jataka Tales (stories of the Buddha’s previous lives)—and U Ohn Maung, one of the “Nine Martyrs” assassinated alongside independence hero Gen Aung San. He just managed to avoid saying “I am from Minbu too.”
The regime boss also toured other Magwe towns—including Magwe, Aunglan, Yenanchaung and Chauk—in what junta media billed as an effort to “facilitate regional development work.”
The irony was not lost on locals: Min Aung Hlaing’s 2021 coup against a democratically elected government has left Magwe, like the rest of the country, mired in civil war and economic collapse. Still fresh in the memory is a junta airstrike on February 25 that slaughtered 14 wedding guests in the region’s Myaing District.
The towns he visited are slated for the first phase of elections due to be held on December 28, and Min Aung Hlaing’s meetings with locals were viewed as pressing the flesh on behalf of the military’s proxy Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP). The junta chief urged both military personnel and civilians to cast their ballots without fail.
Min Aung Hlaing is expected to pursue the presidency through parliamentary appointment, backed by military appointees and the USDP. The 2008 Constitution reserves 25 percent of parliamentary seats for the Myanmar military, and its bloc is almost certain to swell to a majority after the junta’s stage-managed election – all but guaranteeing his extended grip on power.
Running Out of Gas
Despite courting investment from countries far and wide to prop up Myanmar’s collapsing energy sector, junta Energy Minister Ko Ko Lwin has admitted that national oil and gas production remains slow with limited profitability.
Desperate for investment to fill coffers emptied by four years of civil war, the ministry touted opportunities at a workshop titled “Comprehensive Management: Oil and Gas Production Enhancement Activities in Mature Oil Fields” in Naypyitaw on Wednesday. Junta media boasted the showcase would tackle declining output and explore solutions to revitalize aging energy assets.
Officials at the workshop noted a significant drop in oil and gas yields, despite plans to ramp up extraction, citing various technical and operational challenges. Domestic experts, engineers, and international oil company representatives provided recommendations in response, junta media reported.
In May, the junta signed off on the Min Ye Thu Project—a multibillion-dollar offshore exploration deal with Thai-owned Gulf Petroleum Myanmar Co Ltd—marking the first new natural gas project since the 2021 coup.
Myanmar’s energy sector plunged into disarray after the 2021 coup, as multinationals including France’s TotalEnergies, US’ Chevron, and Australia’s Woodside Petroleum withdrew, citing human rights concerns over the military takeover.
Regime Recaptures Karenni Town
Myanmar’s military regime claimed to have retaken Demoso town from resistance forces in Karenni (Kayah) State on Tuesday.
The regime said it reclaimed the town after 16 days of fighting during Operation Yan Naing Min, repelling a joint force of the Karenni Army—the armed wing of the Karenni National Progressive Party (KNPP)—Karenni Nationalities Defense Force (KNDF), and the People’s Defense Force.
The Karenni resistance seized Demoso during Operation 1111 in November 2023. They also captured most of the Karenni capital, Loikaw, before a regime counteroffensive forced their retreat.
Dictator Desperately Seeking Voters
Myanmar junta boss Min Aung Hlaing has urged both military personnel and civilians to cast ballots “without fail” in a regime-organized election scheduled to be held in phases starting in December.
During a visit to Magwe on Monday, the junta leader met military personnel and their families at Central Command headquarters, as well as business owners and other local residents.
He urged them to “do the duty of a good citizen by casting a vote” and to vote for those with “capacity and commitment to national interests”.
Poll Date Set as Civil War Rages
Myanmar’s junta said Monday that long-promised elections will start on December 28, despite a raging civil war that has put much of the country out of its control, and international monitors slating the poll as a charade.
Myanmar has been consumed by conflict since the military deposed the government of democratic leader Aung San Suu Kyi in 2021, making unsubstantiated allegations of electoral fraud.
Swathes of the country are beyond military control—administered by a myriad of pro-democracy guerrillas and powerful ethnic armed organisations which have pledged to block polls in their enclaves.
‘Nationwide Vote’ Covers Less Than a Third of Townships
Myanmar’s regime announced on Thursday that voting will be held in 102 of the country’s 330 townships, mostly under its control, during the first phase of elections planned for December 28.
Elections would be held in six townships in Kachin, two in Karenni (Kayah), three in Karen, two in Chin, five in Mon, three in Rakhine, and 12 in Shan. Others include 12 in Sagaing, four in Tanintharyi, eight in Bago, nine in Magwe, eight in Mandalay, 12 in Yangon, eight in Ayeyarwady, and eight in Naypyitaw.
Except in Naypyitaw, the regime can’t hold the voting in all the townships across other regions and states.
