NAYPYIDAW, Myanmar: Myanmar’s junta signaled changes in the military’s leadership ahead of the country’s annual show of force on Friday, potentially clearing the way for defense chief Min Aung Hlaing to become president.
Thousands of soldiers will march for Armed Forces Day at a parade ground in the capital Naypyidaw, where Min Aung Hlaing will make his yearly speech to rally morale.
He has ruled by diktat since ousting the hugely popular government of Aung San Suu Kyi in 2021 — detaining the Nobel Peace Prize laureate, dissolving her party and triggering civil war.
There will be “leadership changes” in the armed forces after the ceremony, the state-run Global New Light of Myanmar newspaper quoted Min Aung Hlaing’s deputy Soe Win as saying at an official dinner Thursday.
Lawmakers are set to begin the process of selecting a president next week following a walkover victory by pro-military parties earlier this year in elections overseen by the junta.
