Elections in a year if conditions are safe: Senior General

Elections in a year if conditions are safe: Senior General
Published 23 May 2021
EMG

According to the May 20 video conferencing interview by a Chinese media called Phoenix, the Senior General Min Aung Hlaing said that elections will be held in a year if it is possible to do so in a safe environment.

While the full extent of the interview has yet to be released, this particular snippet regarding the election was published on May 22.

"What we, the military, accept is to go towards a federal union with a multi-party democracy. If the situation is safe enough, we will do it. If it is possible within one year then it will be within one year. Maybe it will be extended to six more months and it will be within those six months," said the Senior General.

He denies the criticisms that there have been over 700 deaths from crackdowns on protests.

"The actual death toll is only at around 300. There were many deaths from the police too. There were 47 policemen dead and over 200 injured," he said.

The military had also issued a summarized news update regarding this interview but also has yet to disclose the full extent of the interview. It said that the Senior General sat for an interview for the "Talk with World Leaders" program, hosted by veteran political journalist Fu Xiao Tian from Phoenix News, in which they discussed the current political affairs including claims of voter fraud, ceasefire activities, Rakhine state affairs, Myanmar-China border issues and so on.