At the Peace Forum 2025 held today in Naypyidaw, military council leader Min Aung Hlaing claimed that the current situation in Myanmar resulted from illegal actions, statements, and enactments by the National League for Democracy (NLD) government and parliament. He stated that the military had drafted the 2008 Constitution, conducted a nationwide referendum, and peacefully transferred power to a democratic system in 2011, asserting that the military had led the implementation of democracy.
Min Aung Hlaing mentioned that while there were challenges during the first democratic government under President Thein Sein, efforts were made to improve military-civilian relations during the second democratic government under the NLD. However, he accused the NLD government and parliament of conducting illegal activities. While the military previously justified its power grab citing electoral fraud in the 2020 elections under the 2008 Constitution, they have now shifted their narrative to blame civil-military relations and NLD government actions for the current situation.
The military council claims it will establish a ‘Myanmar-style democracy’ rather than directly copying democratic systems from other countries. They plan to implement both a first-past-the-post system and proportional representation (PR) in future elections. The council announced plans to hold elections by the end of next year, scheduling them to take place over four weeks from December to the second week of January 2026, with the exact dates still under consideration.
