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Bloomberg
Myanmar’s junta chief Min Aung Hlaing said there are plans to hold a fresh general election on August 2023, sticking to the military government’s timeline and defying pressure from the US to hold polls earlier.
“Depending on state stability and peace, we are making our utmost effort to hold a multi-party general election on August 2023,†the junta chief said during a meeting with heads and teachers at military universities in Yangon that was broadcast on state-run MRTV.
The regime had tried to talk to political parties several times but some of them didn’t come to meetings with junta-appointed election officials, the top general said. Plans are under way to take action against those who didn’t act in accordance with the laws, he added. Min Aung Hlaing’s comments come after Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the US was exploring additional ways, including sanctions, to pressure the military regime to bring Myanmar back on a democratic trajectory after the February coup. The Association of Southeast Asian Nations excluded the junta chief from attending a big ticket summit this year to push Myanmar to resolve its internal issues.