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Myanmar junta extends state of emergency, delays elections

Myanmar's junta eased rules on the registration of political parties hours before it decided to extend the country's state of emergency amid ongoing battles with armed opposition across the country.

AFP

The military declared a state of emergency when it ousted Aung San Suu Kyi's government in February 2021. / Photo: Reuters Archive / Photo: AFP

Myanmar's National Defence and Security Council has agreed to extend a state of emergency by six months, again delaying elections the military has promised to hold.

"U Myint Swe, the acting president announced the extension of the state of emergency for another six months... as the situation is not normal and to be able to continue the process of combatting terrorists," the junta said in a statement on Wednesday.

The military declared a state of emergency when it ousted Aung San Suu Kyi's government in February 2021, triggering mass protests and a crackdown on dissent.

It has extended the state of emergency multiple times since, as it battles armed opposition to its coup across swathes of the country, delaying fresh elections it has promised to hold.

Myanmar's military-drafted 2008 constitution, which the junta has said is still in force, requires authorities to hold fresh elections within six months of a state of emergency being lifted.

More than 4,400 people have been killed in the military's crackdown on dissent, according to a local monitoring group.