Myanmar military signals leadership change ahead of presidential vote

March 27 (Reuters) - Myanmar's military leadership ‌is set for ​a ​reshuffle following an annual armed forces parade on Friday, state media reported, in a rare public signaling of transition by the secretive institution that ‌has dominated the Southeast Asian nation.

The imminent leadership change comes just ⁠days before Myanmar's newly-convened parliament is due to meet on Monday to start the process to pick ‌a new president, a role ‌the current military chief Min Aung Hlaing has long had his eyes on, Reuters has reported.

In a Thursday meeting with retired officers of the Myanmar military, also ​known as the Tatmadaw, its deputy chief Soe Win said that "leadership changes" would take place after the armed forces day ceremony, which typically features an ostentatious parade ⁠held in the capital Naypyitaw.

"Irrespective of who leads, Tatmadaw will continue to follow the guidance of successive leaders, ​advisors and mentors, as well as established military doctrines and policies," Soe Win said, according to the Global New Light of Myanmar newspaper.

A ​political transition in underway in Myanmar following a ‌general election held in December and January that was widely derided as a sham and won by a military-backed party, opening ⁠the door for Min Aung Hlaing to become president.

The poll came amidst a raging civil war, triggered by a 2021 coup that unseated a democratically elected government led by Nobel Peace Prize ⁠winner Aung San Suu Kyi, a conflict that has plunged the impoverished country into further turmoil.

It ​is highly unusual occurrence for Myanmar's military - which is locked in fighting with a range of armed groups on multiple frontlines - to preemptively disclose a high-level leadership change, said Htin Kyaw Aye, ‌an independent analyst.

"This is a scripted transition, however, such a disclosure of information suggests that there may be underlying anxieties regarding ‌the leadership transition and the redistribution of high-level positions," he said.

A career infantry officer, 69-year-old Min ⁠Aung Hlaing, who was hand-picked ‌by former military ruler Than ​Shwe to become the commander-in-chief in 2011, has yet to publicly name a successor.

(Reporting by Reuters staff, Writing by Devjyot Ghoshal; Editing by ‌Martin Petty)

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