Myanmar: Military rulers extend state of emergency in a bid to delay polls

Naypyidaw [Myanmar], February 2 (ANI): Myanmar's National Defence and Security Council (NDSC), on Tuesday, decided to extend the country's state of emergency, to delay the election Myanmar Now reported.
According to Myanmar's News Agency, military junta chief Min Aung Hlaing submitted a report to council members reflecting on two years of military rule as required by the army-drafted 2008 Constitution, which he used to rationalise his claim to power on February 1, 2021, when he staged a coup.
Military-governed Myanmar declared a state of emergency for a year when it took power and has since extended it twice for six months each time. The most recent one expires on Wednesday.
In the notice, Section 425 states that "if the Commander-in-Chief of the Defence Services submits the extension of the prescribed duration by giving reasons why he has not been able to accomplish the assigned duties," the NDSC can "normally permit two extensions of the prescribed duration for a term of six months for each extension," according to Myanmar Now.
In the official announcement, Min Aung Hlaing repeated his justification for the coup, citing unfounded allegations of voter fraud in the 2020 general elections in which the ruling National League for Democracy (NLD) won a landslide victory.
Regarding the election, the junta chief said that the country was still not ready for that as they don't have an 'accurate' voter list and 'free' polls, since nearly half of the more than 300 townships in Myanmar lack security and stability.
"We need to hold a general election in all states and regions simultaneously and we can't do it in one place after another," Min Aung Hlaing said, adding, "It is not enough to [hold it] only in urban areas," Myanmar Now quoted the military junta chief as saying.
Meanwhile, Myanmar's ambassador to the United Nations (UN) Kyaw Moe Tun said that the military regime has no legal authority, and its plans to seek legitimacy by having a national election is likely 'a sham'. (ANI)
The military has "no kind of legal authority", said Mr Kyaw Moe Tun in an interview with CNA.
"They are illegal. They are illegitimate," he said, adding, "So whatever the election they are going to organise, the people will definitely not accept it. So that is why we always say that this election they are going to organise is a sham election." (ANI)