Junta Convenes Parliament — Min Aung Hlaing Poised for Presidency

On March 16, 2026, the junta's parliament convened for the first time since the 2021 coup, seated by a military-dominated legislature following elections the NUG, ASEAN, and international community condemned as illegitimate. The USDP (military proxy party) won 193 of 209 lower house and 52 of 78 upper house seats. On Armed Forces Day (March 27), Vice-Senior General Soe Win announced that a president and vice presidents would be selected within days, with Min Aung Hlaing widely expected to assume the presidency. The transition was assessed by analysts as a cosmetic civilian rebrand aimed at securing ASEAN re-engagement while retaining full military control under the 2008 constitution's guaranteed 25% military parliamentary seats.