Nay Pyi Taw, February (4)
If the military regime that has seized the country’s sovereignty does not give up its grab of power, the situation in the country will not be stable in the next six months, said the spokesperson of the National Unity Government (NUG).
At the National Defense and Security Council Meeting held on January 31, on the 2nd anniversary of the army’s seizure of power, military leader General Min Aung Hlaing stated that the country is not yet ready to hold elections and that the country is in an abnormal situation, and extended the state of emergency for six months.
The state of emergency was extended from February 1 to July 31, and the military council issued a statement on February 2 to impose martial law in 37 townships in eight regions and states, with military council members reshuffled.
National Unity Government (NUG) Prime Minister’s Office Spokesperson U Nay Phone Latt told Than Lwin Times that the military group seems to be stepping up its military operations to bring the country back to a normal state, and the public and the revolutionary forces will never surrender.
The military leader is asserting that it is the government’s responsibility to hold an election, so
that the people can vote or not.
He said that the election will be successful only if it is held in each region with 50 percent or
more of the constituencies, and 50 percent of the representatives will be able to sit in the
parliament.
According to Nay Phone Latt, if members of the military council consider the current situation and break away from the military group to join the people, the revolution will end quickly and the country will return to normalcy after becoming a federal democratic union.
U Nay Phone Latt said that since the military council is not a legitimate government, they have no right to hold elections, and the public will not cooperate with them. He said, “First, the military council is not a legitimate government, so it has no authority to do it. The second thing is that the military council does not have the ability. It has been proven in various ways that the public does not accept them.”
The military council is likely to control only 60 percent of the country’s territory, and junta leader admitted that 132 townships need to be effectively provided with security.
Political analysts predicted that if the military council could not hold an election after the six-month period of the current state of emergency expires, they will try to extend the state of emergency again and hold elections when they have an advantage.
On the other hand, the military council enacted the Political Parties Registration Law on January 26, which includes many restrictions that will make all other political parties lose the right to run for the elections, except for the military-backed Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP).
Political parties will have to be automatically dissolved as a result of the new party registration law, and the law specifies that if a party is not registered within 60 days of the law’s promulgation, it will no longer be valid as a political party.
News-Than Lwin Times
