March 30 (Reuters) - Min Aung Hlaing stepped down as Myanmar's armed forces chief on Monday to seek the presidency, the latest step in the generals' efforts to maintain power behind the facade of a civilian administration, five years after they led a coup against an elected government.
The move follows a controversial election held in December and January that was won by a military-backed party but widely derided as a sham by the United Nations and many Western countries.
The coup that ousted the democratically elected government of Nobel Peace Prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi prompted mass protests that developed into a nationwide uprising after the military responded with brutal force.
The civil war, which continues to rage, has killed nearly 93,000 people, displaced more than 3.6 million people, and further damaged an already weak economy.
Despite the fighting, the junta organised new elections, which excluded Suu Kyi's party and other opposition groups, ensuring the military-backed Union Solidarity and Development Party would sweep the polls.
Min Aung Hlaing has long had his eyes on officially becoming president, even though the civil war has dented the military's prestige and hold over the country, Reuters has reported.
"This has been Min Aung Hlaing's goal all along," said independent analyst Htin Kyaw Aye.
"It's just a shift from ruling as a military leader to ruling as president."
PATH TO THE PRESIDENCY
In the lower house of the newly convened parliament, Min Aung Hlaing - who had commanded Myanmar's armed forces since 2011 - was one of two people named as vice-presidential candidates by lawmakers.
The country's upper house will also nominate a vice-presidential candidate, with both houses to select a president from the three in a later vote. A date for that vote has not been announced.
"Senior General Min Aung Hlaing is proposed as a vice-presidential candidate," USDP lawmaker Kyaw Kyaw Htay said on the floor of the lower house of parliament, according to a live broadcast of proceedings on state media.
Born to a family from Myanmar's south, Min Aung Hlaing studied law before entering the military and rising steadily through the ranks, culminating in his promotion to military chief on this day 15 years ago.
Considered a ruthless operator, Min Aung Hlaing has relied on a finely tuned ability to manage the country's elites, using tactics that include handing important positions to loyalists and punishing political rivals.
TRUSTED LOYALIST
At a separate ceremony in the capital Naypyitaw, Min Aung Hlaing handed over the position of commander-in-chief of the armed forces to Ye Win Oo, a veteran officer from his inner circle.
"I will continue to serve the interests of the people, the military, and the national interests of the country," he said in a speech broadcast by military-owned media.
Ye Win Oo was appointed Myanmar's intelligence chief in 2020, and was promoted to commander-in-chief of the army earlier this month.
"The fact that he received two major promotions within two months clearly demonstrates that he is one of Min Aung Hlaing's most trusted loyalists," said Aung Kyaw Soe, an independent analyst.
A graduate of the Officer Training School - rather than the elite Defence Services Academy that has long been a crucible for the officer corps - Ye Win Oo previously led an infantry division and the Southwestern Command in the Ayeyarwady delta in the country's south.
"Since the coup, he has retained the rank of general and held one of the most sensitive portfolios at the apex of the military administration," the Institute for Strategy and Policy – Myanmar, a think tank based in Thailand, wrote in a March analysis.
"Even so, General Ye Win Oo appears to lack the breadth of leadership experience that spans both battlefield command and institutional administration."
(Reporting by Reuters staff; Writing by Devjyot Ghoshal; Editing by John Mair, David Stanway and Kate Mayberry)
