General Min Aung Hlaing defended the military's action in his first direct speech to the people of Myanmar since the coup.

"The military always respects and abides by the constitution, no one can stand above the law, which is the basic requirement of a democracy. No organization can stand above national interests," said Governor-General Min Aung Hlaing

He accused the Myanmar electoral committee of using the Covid-19 epidemic as "an excuse to prevent fair campaigning", saying that civil officials were not fulfilling their responsibilities and "just looking for reasons".

"We have created a government in the right positions, to build real and disciplined democracy, unlike the previous military administrations. The government will hold elections and give power to it.

The live broadcast marked the first time General Min Aung Hlaing spoke to the Myanmar public since the February 1 coup, in which the country witnessed many protests against the actions of the military.

The coup comes just hours before the first meeting of the new parliament in Myanmar since the November 2020 election in which the National Coalition for Democracy (NLD) of State Counselor Aung

The US, Great Britain, the United Nations and the European Union have condemned the coup, calling on the Myanmar military to soon return power to the civilian government.

Thousands of Mynamar residents continued to take to the streets today to protest the coup, demanding the release of Advisor Suu Kyi and government officials.

Officials from Mandalay city and Ayeyarwaddy region announced the imposition of martial law from February 8, which prohibits people from demonstrating or gathering too many people, and requires people not to go out from 20:00 the day before.