{"id":10119,"date":"2026-09-20T22:06:59","date_gmt":"2026-09-20T15:36:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/moemaka.net\/eng\/?p=10119"},"modified":"2026-09-20T22:06:59","modified_gmt":"2026-09-20T15:36:59","slug":"is-there-really-a-rivalry-between-the-usdp-and-military-leader-min-aung-hlaing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/moemaka.net\/eng\/2026\/09\/is-there-really-a-rivalry-between-the-usdp-and-military-leader-min-aung-hlaing\/","title":{"rendered":"Is There Really a Rivalry Between the USDP and Military Leader Min Aung Hlaing?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Myanmar Spring Chronicle \u2013 Scenes from<\/em> September 19<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

(MoeMaKa), September 20, 2026<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Is There Really a Rivalry Between the USDP and Military Leader Min Aung Hlaing?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP) conference had originally been scheduled for early this month but was postponed for several weeks before finally being held. In connection with the delay, some news media have published analyses suggesting that disagreements have emerged between military leader Min Aung Hlaing and the USDP leadership.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But is there really a power struggle between the former generals who lead the USDP and Min Aung Hlaing, the current head of the military government? Would the former generals now leading the USDP actually dare to challenge Min Aung Hlaing? And do they still possess enough influence or connections within the military to mobilize support against him? These are questions worth examining.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Citing some sources within the USDP, media reports have suggested that the party conference was postponed because of disagreements between Min Aung Hlaing, who currently holds the presidency, and the existing USDP leadership over the allocation of senior positions ahead of the election of a new party leadership.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Some of these analyses have compared the situation with the events of August 12, 2015, when Thura U Shwe Mann was removed as USDP chairman in an episode widely described by the media as the \u201cmidnight coup.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, the circumstances preceding Shwe Mann\u2019s removal in 2015 were very different from those of today.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After the USDP won the 2010 election, senior government and parliamentary positions were allocated in March 2011. Shwe Mann did not obtain the presidency and instead had to settle for the position of parliamentary speaker. His ambition for the country\u2019s highest office subsequently became increasingly apparent.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Between 2011 and 2015, numerous developments demonstrated how the USDP-dominated parliament under Shwe Mann increasingly sought to assert itself alongside the executive branch. Disputes involving the Constitutional Tribunal and the rivalry between Ayeyarwady Region parliament speaker U San Sint and Chief Minister U Thein Aung reflected the broader and continuing competition between Shwe Mann and President Thein Sein.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Shwe Mann also developed a closer relationship with Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, leader of the National League for Democracy (NLD), after she entered parliament. These developments eventually contributed to Shwe Mann\u2019s removal as USDP chairman in what the media called the \u201cmidnight coup.\u201d Another immediate factor may have been Shwe Mann\u2019s decision to exclude many military-backed candidates from the USDP\u2019s candidate list for the 2015 election.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Following the 2010 election, former dictator Senior General Than Shwe had placed Thein Sein, Shwe Mann and, on the military side, Min Aung Hlaing in their respective positions. He then largely withdrew from day-to-day administration and policymaking. This created room for rivalries and competing factions to emerge between USDP chairman Shwe Mann and President Thein Sein. Put another way, Than Shwe had effectively loosened his direct control over the system.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The situation in 2026 appears quite different. There are few visible signs of a genuine power struggle between the USDP, the military and the government.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The appointment of U Khin Yi to replace former USDP chairman U Than Htay also appeared to have been a choice made by Min Aung Hlaing himself. At the time, there were few indications that Deputy Commander-in-Chief Soe Win, the military\u2019s second-ranking leader, had any meaningful role in the decision or any significant opportunity to influence it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Likewise, there have been few visible indications of serious disagreements either between the USDP and the military or between the USDP and Min Aung Hlaing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Some media reports and commentaries have nevertheless claimed that disputes emerged between Min Aung Hlaing and USDP leaders over the allocation of senior positions\u2014including chairman, vice-chairman and secretary\u2014as the party prepared to select its Central Executive Committee.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In practice, however, such a confrontation appears highly unlikely.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After the NLD won the 2015 election, the USDP may not have been completely under military management between 2016 and the end of 2020. But following the 2021 military takeover, the party gradually came under much greater military influence and control.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The USDP of today is therefore very different from the party of 2011\u20132015. Its leaders no longer appear to have the same space to openly express independent positions or disagree with the military leadership.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Since the military seized power, Min Aung Hlaing has repeatedly created and rearranged different positions and political structures as he saw fit. This has characterized the political system for more than five years. The present USDP is no longer comparable to the USDP or parliament of the Thein Sein administration. Instead, it operates increasingly under a single chain of command.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Against this backdrop, reports suggesting a power struggle between the USDP and the military leader may have been intended to generate greater public interest in the USDP conference. Another possibility is that some USDP leaders may have used overseas-based media as part of an information or psychological operation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As this article was being written on the afternoon of September 19, reports emerged that the USDP conference had re-elected incumbent chairman U Khin Yi.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There was therefore no \u201cmidnight coup\u201d of the kind some media analyses had speculated about, nor was Khin Yi replaced by another figure. The existing leadership arrangement remains in place, reinforcing the view that the current political configuration is likely to continue for the time being.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Myanmar Spring Chronicle \u2013 Scenes from September 19 (MoeMaKa), September 20, 2026 Is There Really a Rivalry Between the USDP and Military Leader Min Aung Hlaing? The Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP) conference had originally been scheduled for early…<\/p>\n

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