Min Aung Hlaing says no Myanmar elections until 2023

Six months after seizing power, coup leader declares himself prime minister and adds more than a year to election timeline.

Myanmar’s military ruler has promised multi-party elections and the lifting of the state of emergency by August 2023, extending an initial timeline given when he deposed civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi’s elected government earlier this year. The general’s announcement in a televised address on Sunday, six months after the February 1 coup, would place Myanmar under military control for nearly two and a half years – instead of the initial one-year timeline the army announced days after its power grab. Myanmar has been in turmoil since the coup, with the military facing protests and strikes that have paralysed the administration and economy. Security forces have killed more than 900 people in a crackdown on anti-coup protests and dissent, according to a local monitoring group, and there has been a resurgence of armed conflicts in the borderlands.