Myanmar political crisis: Military takes control of the country, declares state of emergency – GovJobsNow.In

The Myanmar military on February 1, 2021, staged a coup and declared a state of emergency in the country for one year. The powerful military has also detained the state counsellor of Myanmar Aung San Suu Kyi and several other civilian leaders, the move which has been condemned by several other countries.

The Military has also informed that the new elections in the country will take place after one of the emergency. During this one year, the Union Election Commission will be reformed and the Parliamentary elections which were held in November 2020 will be reviewed.

Currently, the state power has been handed over to Min Aung Hlaing, Commander-in-Chief of Defence Services, while the first Vice President of Myanmar Myint Swe will be serving as the acting President of the country.

Reason behind the military coup in Myanmar:

The new political crisis has come in Myanmar in the wake of rising tensions between the government and the military.

According to the Military officials, there has been a massive voting fraud in the elections which were held on November 8, 2020. They also demanded the postponement of the new parliamentary session which was due to convene on February 1. However, the Union Election Commission had dismissed the allegations.

The November 2020 election was the only second democratic vote ever since the country had emerged from the 50 years of military rule in 2011. As per the reports, the state counsellor of Myanmar Aung San Suu Kyi had also spent many years under house arrest.

Telephone, internet services impacted in the country:

With the military in power, the telephone and internet services in the country’s capital, Naypyitaw, have been suspended. The same situation has emerged in other major cities of Myanmar as well.

In the largest city of Myanmar and the former capital Yangon, the essential services have been disrupted. The internet connectivity and phone lines appear to be limited as many providers have been cutting their services.

Citizens can be seen lining up at the ATM’s with the expectation that there can be a cash crunch in the coming days. According to the Myanmar Banks Association, the banks have also temporarily halted their financial services.