Armoured vehicles have been sighted in Yangon and other cities around Myanmar just days before the results of an election disputed by the military are set to go into effect. Witnesses told Myanmar Now that they saw two tanks near the U Htaung Bo roundabout in Yangon’s Bahan township on Thursday afternoon. “It was around 3pm. I was in a taxi in a traffic jam. When I looked to see what was happening, I saw two armoured vehicles,” said Yangon resident Zaw Aung. Earlier in the day, the Union Daily, a newspaper backed by the Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP), posted a photo of two T-92 armoured vehicles in Bhamo, Kachin state, on its Facebook page.

The vehicles were being “test driven” by Lt-Col San Naung Oo, the commander of the 5014th tank battalion, on Thursday morning, the newspaper said. Two reconnaissance vehicles were also taken for a test drive the day before, it added. Meanwhile, tanks from the 6006th tank battalion were spotted on the streets of Kanbalu in Sagaing region, on Wednesday, according to Amyotha Hluttaw MP Dr. Hlaing Myint Han. The appearance of tanks in the streets of urban areas comes amid growing concern over the military’s hardening stance on last year’s election, which it says was rife with irregularities.

At a press conference on Tuesday, military spokesperson Brig-Gen Zaw Min Tun declined to rule out the possibility of a coup if the issue is not addressed to the Tatmadaw’s satisfaction.

A day later, the commander-in-chief of the armed forces, Senior General Min Aung Hlaing, suggested that it might be necessary to repeal the 2008 constitution if unnamed parties don’t abide by it.

Under the constitution, which was drafted by the military to cement its influence ahead of a democratic transition that began a decade ago, the Tatmadaw can only assume direct power if it is requested to do so by the president.

The results of the 2020 election are set to take effect on Monday. A new president will be chosen after parliament reconvenes a few days later. The military-backed USDP won only 71 of the 1,117 seats up for grabs nationwide, while the ruling National League for Democracy (NLD) won 82% of the total. Since the November 8 election, the military and its proxies have mounted a concerted campaign to challenge the results by accusing officials of failing to ensure that it was free and fair. Although election observers say they have seen little evidence of widespread fraud, the military claims that it has found more than 8.6 million irregularities on voter lists. On Wednesday, around 30 people clashed with police during an unauthorised protest in front of the National Theatre on Myoma Kyaung Rd in Yangon’s Dagon township in support of the military’s bid to overturn the results of the election. Similar protests have been held by ultranationalist groups around the country since the election was held.