Naypyidaw, April 3 – Myanmar junta chief Min Aung Hlaing has been elected as the country's President after securing the most votes among the three nominees, media reported on Friday.
Hlaing's two Vice Presidents are former military-appointed Prime Minister Nyo Saw, a longtime loyalist, and Nan Ni Ni Aye, the chair of the Karen State branch of the military-backed Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP), according to The Irrawaddy.
In the days leading up to his election, Min Aung Hlaing stepped down as commander-in-chief and appointed General Ye Win Oo to the position. The handover ceremony for the commander-in-chief of the defence services took place at the Zeyathiri Beikman in Naypyidaw on Monday.
On Monday, Myanmar's lower house, the Pyithu Hluttaw, nominated Min Aung Hlaing as a vice-presidential candidate, according to state-run Myanmar Radio and Television. According to the Myanmar constitution, the Union Parliament elects the President from among three vice-presidential candidates.
Elections were held in Myanmar in December 2025 and January 2026. The USDP won the elections, in which the majority of opposition parties were barred from participating, The Irrawaddy reported.
Min Aung Hlaing has ruled Myanmar since 2021, when he ordered a coup to overthrow the government led by Aung San Suu Kyi. After the National League for Democracy (NLD), led by Aung San Suu Kyi, won both the 2015 and 2020 elections, Min Aung Hlaing claimed that the latter election was marred by electoral fraud and used this claim to launch his coup.
At the time, he stated that it was not a power grab but a necessary measure taken amid a constitutional "state of emergency." Following the military takeover, the Myanmar junta annulled the 2020 election results, dissolved the NLD, and detained Aung San Suu Kyi, cabinet members, and thousands of democracy activists.
