NAYPYIDAW, Myanmar: Myanmar's parliament convened on Monday (March 16) for the first time since a 2021 military coup, AFP journalists saw, packed with pro-junta lawmakers elected in a poll choreographed by the top brass.
The majority of MPs hail from the pro-military Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP) while most of the remainder belong to the armed forces, which are entitled to a quarter of unelected seats under the constitution.
AFP journalists in the capital Naypyidaw saw MPs in the People's Assembly begin proceedings to elect a chairman for the lower house around 10:00 am (0330 GMT).
The last election in 2020 returned a resounding victory for Aung San Suu Kyi but the junta swept aside the results, detained the Nobel Peace Prize laureate and disbanded her party, triggering civil war.
After five years of military rule, the junta stage-managed a phased re-run of the vote in December and January, outlawing criticism of the poll and stacking the ballot with its civilian allies, according to democracy watchdogs.
The vote did not take place in huge tracts of the country controlled by rebels and analysts describe the new cohort of MPs as a proxy of the military, intended to give its rule a veneer of legitimacy.
Junta chief Min Aung Hlaing is tipped by some to be plotting to swap his military fatigues for the civilian sash of president in order to lead the new government when it takes power next month.
The president will be picked by a vote across both houses of parliament, dominated by MPs who either support the military or are currently serving in its ranks.
'Military in civilian clothing'
Some Myanmar experts believe Min Aung Hlaing may remain military chief to puppeteer the government behind the scenes.
"Who knows what role he will play, but he clearly will be in charge and the military will be clearly in charge," the UN's outgoing Myanmar rights expert, Tom Andrews, told AFP last week.
"This will be a military junta in civilian clothing," he said in an interview.
The military has ruled Myanmar for most of its post-independence history, before a decade-long democratic thaw saw civilian leader Suu Kyi take the reins.
Analysts say the junta staged its 2021 coup as it grew anxious about its waning influence compared to her hugely popular movement.
But the putsch sparked civil war as pro-democracy activists took up arms alongside ethnic minority factions which have long resisted central rule.
The USDP -- which won more than 80 per cent of seats contested in the election -- was founded by an ex-general and is staffed by many retired high-ranking officers.
Serving armed forces members take several key cabinet positions and a quarter of parliament seats under the terms of a military-drafted constitution which gives them an entrenched position in the political establishment. - AFP
