12/16/25, 10:44 AM Beyond Ballots: The Junta Chief’s Elite Management Strategy Ahead of Myanmar’s Elections | ISP-Myanmar Photo – AFP (This Op-ed article was originally published on the Stimson Center website (https://www.stimson.org/2025/beyond-ballots-the-junta-chiefs-elite-management-strategy-ahead-ofmyanmars-elections/) on 11 December 2025.) As Myanmar’s junta-led elections approach in December, the junta leader, Senior General Min Aung Hlaing, is consolidating his power and strategically managing the military elites to preserve his control. Historical precedents of elite management by Myanmar’s junta leaders demonstrate how these power plays can determine regime survival or collapse. Analyzing the junta’s internal shifts today provides insights into the regime’s stability and into how Min Aung Hlaing uses the elections to reinforce his dominance. While much of the current debate around Myanmar’s upcoming elections focuses on rigging (https://fulcrum.sg/myanmars-fake-election-is-a-trap-not-a-transition/), legitimacy (https://eastasiaforum.org/2025/10/01/de-facto-and-de-jure-power-in-myanmarslegitimacy-struggle/), and the resistance’s response (https://thediplomat.com/2025/09/myanmars-election-gamble/), a critical aspect is often overlooked: the junta chief’s sophisticated strategy for managing internal power within the military. https://ispmyanmar.com/beyond-ballots-the-junta-chiefs-elite-management-strategy-ahead-of-myanmars-elections/ 2/9