The battle-hardened Tatmadaw has long dominated politics in Myanmar, which won independence from Britain in 1948, with a string of military chiefs running the country with an iron grip. "The military is incapable of anything but cosmetic change that will not threaten their core interests of central control," said David Mathieson, an independent Myanmar analyst. "While it is likely that a national leader will emerge from the military-aligned USDP, we have to wait and see if that leader will be Min Aung Hlaing," he said. The junta insists that the polls have popular support, denying that they are being conducted with coercion, force or suppression. "The election is being conducted for the people of Myanmar, not for the international community," junta spokesman Zaw Min Tun told reporters this month, according to state-run media.

Source: The Edge Markets December 24, 2025 09:31 UTC