YANGON — Myanmar's junta chief made an announcement via state media on Tuesday, dispelling rumours that he had retired from the army as part of a reshuffle ahead of a rare election in the country.
"Senior General Than Shwe sends message of felicitations to King of Malaysia," read a front-page headline in the New Light of Myanmar along with other state newspapers, making clear the 77-year-old was still in control.
The regime mouthpiece also referred to Than Shwe as chairman of the State Peace and Development Council -- the military regime's official name -- although it made no mention of last week's secretive reshuffle.
News reports on Friday said the feared ruler, who has run the country since 1992, had stepped down from his military post ahead of the country's first election in 20 years, although this was later denied by unnamed officials.
But they said more than 70 positions had changed in the biggest military reshuffle in decades, with top brass -- including the army number three Thura Shwe Mann -- retiring from their posts to stand in the November 7 poll.
An unnamed government officer close to the regime said on Saturday that Than Shwe and his deputy Maung Aye were "likely to retire soon", probably after the election.
Analysts say the reshuffle is an attempt by Than Shwe to ensure loyalty among army ranks ahead of the poll and to control the outcome of the election, which has been widely dismissed as a sham by activists and the West.
Critics say the vote is designed to simply put a civilian face on the regime, in a country that has been ruled by the military since 1962.
A quarter of the legislature is reserved for serving army members, while the new military veterans were expected to join the main junta-backed Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP) to run in the poll.
Monday was the deadline for the 42 parties to register candidates for about 1,200 national and regional seats available.
The well-funded USDP said Monday that it would field more than 1,000 candidates, while the National Unity Party, also pro-government, said it had more than 990 people running.
But two main pro-democracy groups, the National Democratic Force and the Democratic Party (Myanmar), said they would field only 200 candidates between them, having faced financial constraints and a limited timetable to register candidates.
Party members have also been limited by campaigning restrictions and alleged intimidation.
Opposition groups have struggled to gain public recognition on the scale of the National League for Democracy (NLD), Aung San Suu Kyi's party which won the last election in 1990 but was never allowed to take power.
The party has now been disbanded by the junta after deciding to boycott the polls because of rules that barred Suu Kyi from running, as she is a serving prisoner.
The Nobel peace laureate has spent much of the last two decades in jail or under house arrest.
Source:http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5iVIKHcdDUfrGZeWetEwRS0NX9yAA
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