Myanmar’s parliament has concluded a fortnight-long voting marathon on a series of proposals to change the constitution, with only a small fraction of amendments passing.
Of the 135 proposals put forward, lawmakers were only able to pass four, relatively inconsequential, changes.
None of the proposals aimed at wresting power away from the military passed the 75% voting threshold, thanks to opposition from unelected military MPs who make up a quarter of all seats.
The changes they did allow were to language in the charter referencing elderly people and people with disabilities, which must now be approved in a public referendum.
They also allowed tweaks to sections 261a and 344 to remove unnecessary words, which will not require a referendum.
Myat Nyarna Soe, an NLD member and secretary of the charter amendment parliamentary committee said he felt “regretful” on behalf of the public for failing to make meaningful changes.
“We feel regret for the whole country and all the people over this result,” he said.
The votes followed a year of grueling debates in parliament between NLD lawmakers, military MPs and the military-allied Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP).
According to the record of the union parliament, over 600 MPs attended the voting regularly and there were over 70 invalid ballots on average every day.
Impunity for former dictators
On Friday, the last day of voting, the NLD proposed abolishing all sections under the Transitory Provisions of the charter. The provisions include legal immunity for the members of former junta.
Article 445 of the provisions says “no proceeding shall be instituted” against the State Law and Order Restoration Council (SLORC) and the State Peace and Development Council (SPDC), or anyone who was a member.
Another failed proposal on Friday was aimed at changing the design of the national flag. That bill, backed by the NLD, received 395 votes, or about 60% of lawmakers.
On Thursday, the NLD’s bid to put the police force under civilian control faced the expected resistance from military MPs. Article 338 of the constitution places all the country’s armed forces under the command of the Defense Services.
Military and USDP MPs also refused to abolish bills concerning the judiciary.
Articles 301d and 310d require the chief justice of the Supreme Court and its judges to be considered “eminent” by the President. The NLD wanted to remove that requirement.
The NLD and ethnic parties proposed 114 changes, most seeking to reduce the military’s involvement in the legislature, government and national security.
The rest were submitted by the USDP and the military. Those included the least popular proposal, which with only 30 votes failed to win military support despite being suggested by the USDP and the military.
The proposal was to make it the duty of the constitutional tribunal to vet proceedings in legislatures to ensure they were constitutional. But the lawmakers who submitted forgot to include local parliaments in the bill, so the military and the USDP decided to vote against it.
On Tuesday, Lieutenant Colonel Myo Htet Win, speaking on behalf of military MPs, questioned the NLD’s motive behind the amendment effort.
“Are they trying to make constitutional amendments because the people actually want it?” he asked. The NLD was trying to drum up anti-military sentiment with the changes, he suggested.
Upper House MP Wai Sein Aung of the Arakan National Party said on the last day of voting that NLD’s efforts had achieved nothing.
“Money and time were wasted,” he said. “We tired ourselves out and nothing much changed.”
(Written by Tin Htet Paing)
