On the morning of 1st Feb 2021, Myanmar’s State Counsellor and long-time leader Aung San Suu Kyi, President Win Myint and other senior figures from the ruling National League for Democracy (NLD) party were detained in a coup d'état by Myanmar’s military just hours before parliament was meant to resume for the first time since the Nov 2020 general elections.
The military says the Nov 2020 general election was full of “irregularities” and the results are therefore invalid.
It is questioning the authenticity of some 9 million votes cast in the election. The incumbent NLD won 396 out of 476 seats in this election, a landslide win even bigger than the last election. The Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP), allegedly the military’s proxy, only won 33 seats.
Present Situation
State-run MRTV said in a Facebook post that it was unable to broadcast due to “technical issues”. Widespread internet disruptions were reported. The military later announced on its official mouthpiece that it had taken control of the country for a year and that fresh elections would be held, and power would only be transferred after they had concluded.
It soon removed 24 ministers and named 11 replacements to oversee portfolios such as finance, defence, foreign affairs and interior.
As of today, the markets have opened and panic buying of essential commodities have stopped. Internet is up and running. The effect is expected to be limited to the capital Nay Pyi Taw.
The Backdrop
Myanmar’s relationship with democracy has been short-lived and fraught with hiccups. It gained independence from the British Empire soon after India in 1948. But the democratically elected govt. was dissolved by the military after a coup in 1962. A military junta ruled till 2010, when Nobel laureate Aung Suu Kyi was released after a 15 year long house arrest and elections were called.
Her party boycotted the 2010 elections resulting in a victory for the military-backed USDP but soon came to power in the next elections.
Global Reactions
India reacted with deep concern and said it was monitoring the situation closely and that the rule of law and the democratic process must be upheld.
China says that it has noted the developments and hoped that all sides would handle their differences under the constitution and safeguard political and social stability.
US President Joe Biden said that the US “will stand up for democracy wherever it is under attack” and will review the economic sanctions that it had removed based on Myanmar’s progress towards democracy.
A voice from the street
One 25-year-old resident, who asked not to be named, told the BBC:
"Waking up to learn your world has been completely turned upside down overnight was not a new feeling, but a feeling that I thought that we had moved on from, and one that I never thought we'd be forced to feel again."
Economic Implications
The biggest blow of this political reversal is expected to be on Myanmar’s economy which was already reeling from the effects of Covid-19. In less than six years, Myanmar overcame longstanding economic isolation to become the world’s fastest-growing economy, showing breakneck growth of around 8% YoY. The NLD govt had been instrumental in pushing through economic reforms, including the passage of a new investment law.
The effect is already visible as banks said they had been forced to close.
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