Just seven days after he made the fateful decision to launch his coup against the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi on 1 February 2021, General Min Aung Hlaing made a promise; to hold elections, and return to civilian rule, within a year.
It has taken him five years to fulfil that promise.
Today, the newly-elected parliament chose him to be the next president. Min Aung Hlaing has already stepped down as armed forces commander, as required by the constitution before he can take the post of president.
But this is civilian rule in name only.
The parliament, sitting for the first time since the coup, is filled with his loyalists. With the armed forces guaranteed one quarter of the seats, and the military's own party, the USDP, winning nearly 80% of the remaining seats in an election which was tilted heavily in its favour, this was a preordained outcome. More of a coronation, than an election.
Military men are also likely to dominate the new government when it is formed. Min Aung Hlaing has ensured that a staunch ally, General Ye Win Oo, a hardliner with a reputation for brutality, replaces him at the head of the armed forces.
He has also created a new consultative council, which will exercise paramount authority over civilian and military affairs. He is ensuring that in taking off his uniform, he does not dilute his power.
For young activists like Kyaw Win – not his real name – all hope of change has gone. As a student he was arrested for taking part in a flash mob protest against the coup in 2022, and tortured for a week, before being jailed. He was only recently released.
Kyaw Win’s commitment to the revolution, as the activists call it, is unchanged, but he feels unable to do much now from inside Myanmar. He is planning to seek work outside the country.
The five years since Min Aung Hlaing's coup have been a catastrophe for Myanmar. His decision to use lethal force against mass protests triggered a civil war that has killed thousands, displaced millions, and ruined the economy.
The military regime has ceded control of huge areas to armed resistance, responding with indiscriminate airstrikes on opposition-controlled villages, a tactic aimed at devastating communities that support insurgent groups.
As he presided over the annual military parade, Min Aung Hlaing reiterated the military's justification for intervention, framing its actions as necessary for national integrity. The failure to acknowledge the devastation his actions have wrought reflects a continued lack of accountability.
The state of Myanmar remains dire; UN estimates suggest that 16 million people now require life-saving assistance, with a rising tide of displacement and economic collapse, compounded by external crises impacting fuel supplies.
As calls for dialogue emerge, particularly from veteran activist Mya Aye, the political landscape remains entrenched, with Min Aung Hlaing showing little inclination to shift from the militaristic approach that has marked his tenure.
