The Sagaing Federal Unit Hluttaw (SFUH), an interim legislative body formed after the military coup on Feb. 1, 2021 in Sagaing Region, appointed 11 ministers, including a deputy chief minister, and an attorney general during the “7th regular session” of its legislative duties on Dec. 23.
“I see it as an administration that can be active on the ground among the people for the people’s interests. I think it can listen more closely to people’s voices, work intimately with revolutionary groups, and move toward the success of the revolution,” Zaw Hlaing Thein, the SFUH secretary, told DVB.
Myint Htwe was elected SFUH chairperson with Phyu Phyu Win as vice-chairperson and Soe Oo as prime minister during the SFUH “6th regular session” of its legislative duties on Nov. 17.
The 12 newly-appointed SFUH officials include National League for Democracy (NLD) party lawmakers elected in 2020 but ousted from their roles in the Sagaing Region government during the 2021 military coup.
The SFUH includes anti-coup protest leaders and members of the Civil Disobedience Movement (CDM), which are civil servants who refused to work under the military after the 2021 coup, as well as representatives from the People Defence Force (PDF) in Sagaing Region.
Aung Nay Win was appointed SFUH deputy chief minister; Ko Ko Aung was appointed defense minister; Moe Min Win was appointed home affairs minister; Khant Wai Phyo was appointed planning and finance minister; Tin Aung Moe was appointed education minister; Dr. Myint Aung was appointed health minister; and Aung Chit Nyo will serve as SFUH Attorney General.
Toe Wai Aung became the SFUH humanitarian assistance, rehabilitation, and emergency management minister; Than Hlaing became electricity, energy, and construction minister; Zin Min Tun became forestry and natural resources minister; Bawi Hup Thang became ethnic affairs minister; and Radi Ohn became municipal affairs minister.
“The [SFUH] will collectively address challenges related to people’s lives, homes, and property,” Myint Htwe, the SFUH chairperson, told DVB.
Deputy Chief Minister Aung Nay Win is a former SFUH member and has played a leading role in coordinating CDM members under its framework. Defense Minister Ko Ko Aung is a former PDF leader under the command of the National Unity Government (NUG) in Sagaing Region.
Home Affairs Minister Moe Min Win previously served as an NLD lawmaker from 2015-20 representing Depayin Township Constituency No. 2 in the Sagaing Region Hluttaw. Electricity, Energy, and Construction Minister Than Hlaing also previously served as an NLD lawmaker from 2015-20 representing Pinlebu Township Constituency No. 1 in the Sagaing Region Hluttaw.
Planning and Finance Minister Khant Wai Phyo is a leader of a Sagaing-based strike group, which organized anti-coup protests and boycotts against the military, in Sagaing Region. Education Minister Tin Aung Moe is a former SFUH member involved in CDM-run schools, which provides education to children unable to attend school in regime controlled territory.
Health Minister Dr. Myint Aung has coordinated health services and emergency medical response in resistance-controlled areas of Sagaing Region. Humanitarian Assistance, Rehabilitation, and Emergency Management Minister Toe Wai Aung is a former member of the Federation of Sagaing Forum, a coordination body formed after the 2021 coup that works alongside the SFUH to establish a federal democratic system in Sagaing Region.
Other newly appointed officials are also former SFUH members, including Forestry and Natural Resources Minister Zin Min Tun, Ethnic Affairs Minister Bawi Hup Thang, and Attorney General Aung Chit Nyo. Municipal Affairs Minister Radi Ohn is the only female minister in the SFUH.
NUG Acting President Duwa Lashi La sent a congratulatory message on Dec. 24 to the SFUH for building “a people-centered administrative system” in Sagaing Region. The NUG reduced its number of cabinet members and reassigned some ministers on Dec. 8 following criticism from pro-democracy leaders.
The formation of the SFUH comes as the regime holds its 2025-26 elections with its first phase starting on Dec. 28. The polls have been rejected by the NUG, several ethnic armed groups, and civil society organizations (CSOs), which say elections organized under military rule lack legitimacy, calling it a “sham.”
International human rights organizations, including the U.N. have also criticized the polls, warning that voting cannot be free or fair amid ongoing conflict, mass displacement, and the imprisonment of opponents to the regime.
The regime elections will be held in 274 out of Myanmar’s total 330 townships, according to the UEC. Voting will not be held in 56 townships, but will take place in urban areas of another 10. An additional 161 wards and 2,770 village tracts were excluded from voting by the UEC.
Sagaing Region has a total 37 townships. The UEC has designated 12 ready for the first phase of elections on Dec. 28 and 11 for the second phase of voting on Jan. 11. The UEC has not confirmed whether polls will be held in Sagaing’s remaining 14 townships during its third phase in late January 2026..
The ousted NLD party was dissolved by the UEC in March 2023, for not re-registering after the 2021 coup. The NLD, the NUG, and the Women’s League of Burma (WLB), an umbrella organization representing Myanmar women’s groups, have called on citizens to boycott and reject the regime elections.
