Military chief Min Aung Hlaing (center) visits a polling station during the third and final phase of Myanmar's general election in Mandalay on January 25, 2026. ANTHONY WALLACE / AFP
Myanmar's parliament elected junta chief Min Aung Hlaing as president on Friday, April 3, parliament said, with the ex-military commander set to maintain his rule in a civilian guise after snatching power by force five years ago.
The coup-leading general – who swept aside democracy in 2021, detaining elected figurehead Aung San Suu Kyi and dissolving her party – was anointed by pro-military MPs installed in a recent election overseen by the junta he leads. The vote on Friday across the upper and lower houses of parliament in the capital Naypyidaw saw Min Aung Hlaing secure a huge margin over the second-place candidate in a three-person race.
"We hereby announce Senior General Min Aung Hlaing as president," parliament speaker Aung Lin Dwe announced from a stage in the parliament meeting hall. He received 429 votes of 584 cast by MPs, a parliament official said after ballot counting was finished.
While the junta touted parliament's reopening last month as a return of power to the people, analysts describe it as civilian window dressing intended to launder the military's continuing rule. The pro-military Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP) won more than 80% of parliamentary seats contested in the election, which concluded in late January, while serving members of the armed forces occupy unelected seats making up a quarter of the total.
