(Bloomberg) -- Myanmar’s military chief Min Aung Hlaing has taken over the responsibilities of the president who is gravely ill, more than a week before the junta decides on whether to extend emergency rule in the Southeast Asian country engulfed in a civil war.
The Ministry of Information said Acting President Myint Swe, 73, has gone on medical leave for “neurological disorders” and his responsibilities have been transferred to the junta chief on Monday.
The president is mostly a ceremonial role but since the military coup in February 2021, the junta has relied on Myint Swe to give it some legitimacy as a government as it battles with ethnic armed groups and looks to shore up a crumbling economy.
Min Aung Hlaing will chair the National Defence and Security Council meeting set for July 31. The nation’s highest authority will decide on whether emergency rule, first imposed during the military take over, will be extended.
With this new role, the junta chief will also determine the timing of the elections. The military regime had promised to hold elections more than two years after the coup but pushed it to 2025, citing the security situation in the country.
The military is facing substantial losses in its battles against ethnic armies and resistance groups. It has lost control of most of Rakhine state in the west, on top of ongoing clashes in parts of Shan state bordering China and near Mandalay, Myanmar’s second biggest city.
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