FILE PHOTO: Myanmar's junta chief Senior General Min Aung Hlaing, who ousted the elected government in a coup, presides at an army parade on Armed Forces Day in Naypyitaw, Myanmar, March 27, 2021. REUTERS/Stringer/File Photo
Feb 4 (Reuters) - Myanmar's junta will form a new entity to oversee both the military and civilian administration, a move experts say will allow paramount ruler Min Aung Hlaing to become president without loosening his grip on the powerful armed forces.
Just days after the completion of a final phase of an election that will see a parliament convene next month and power transferred to a nominally civilian government, the junta announced its plans in state media late Tuesday to create the five-member Union Consultative Council.
Its mandate is exceptionally broad, granting it control over every critical component of national security and the legislative process, said Naing Min Khant, program associate at the Institute for Strategy and Policy - Myanmar think-tank.
'SUPREME AUTHORITY'
"The formation of the Union Consultative Council represents a significant institutional shift, likely to create a 'super-body' designed to hold supreme authority above the executive, legislative, and judicial branches," Naing Min Khant said.
A spokesperson for the junta did not answer calls seeking comment on the council.
Min Aung Hlaing took control of Myanmar in a 2021 coup that ousted a civilian government led by Nobel Peace Prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi and triggered widespread protests that expanded into a nationwide civil war.
More than 93,000 people have since been killed in violence in Myanmar, according to the Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project.
The 69-year-old Min Aung Hlaing has indicated he intends to hand over "state responsibilities" to the next government. He is widely expected to become president.
The military-backed Union Solidarity and Development Party swept the election, winning 81% of available upper and lower house seats in a contest criticised by the United Nations, some Western nations and rights groups as a one-sided exercise to keep the ruling generals in power through proxies.
LACK OF ACCOUNTABILITY
State-run media did not provide a reason for why the council was being formed.
According to two lawyers, it will potentially enable Min Aung Hlaing to become president while ensuring he retains full control over the military, which has governed Myanmar for five of the past six decades.
It would also ensure he had control over the civilian-led administration and legislative matters, they said.
"I believe that this newly appointed Union Consultative Council will oversee the new (military) Commander-in-Chief on one hand, and the government on the other," said Kyee Myint, adding that the body would prevent any successor to Min Aung Hlaing as military chief from holding too much power.
But there appears to be no oversight for the new council, according to Naing Min Khant.
"A defining feature of this arrangement is its total lack of accountability," he said.
(Reporting by Reuters Staff; Writing by Devjyot Ghoshal; Editing by Martin Petty)
