Constitutional amendment will proceed
Though admitting that the 2015 election would be hosted under the current military-drafted constitution, Union Parliament Speaker Thura Shwe Mann insisted that the attempts to have the charter changed would continue.
“The constitutional amendment will go ahead depending on the outcome of the 2015 elections,” said Thura Shwe Mann at the press conference on November 18.
“The issue of reviewing and discussing constitutional amendments is very serious, and it is a rather difficult task. Today, this big issue falls into the responsibility of the Speaker. This duty concerns not only the parliament speaker but also the ruling party. I will have to devotedly perform this big duty as the parliament speaker. The adoption of this constitution was orchestrated by the Union Solidarity and Development Association (USDA). At that juncture, the constitution emerged as a component of the USDA’s efforts to introduce multiparty democracy and market-oriented economy to the country,” Thura Shwe Mann said.
Successful implementation of constitutional amendments will depend on the President and Commander-in-Chief of Defence Services, he noted.
“The military representatives said that they didn’t want to amend Section 436. However, we [civilian] members of parliament, think that it is necessary to consider Section 436 while amending constitution. That’s why we are going to try to amend the constitution whether we have a guarantee of success or not. Whether constitutional amendments gain success or not depends on the military representatives in parliament, who are led by Commander-in-Chief of Defence Services and the President. Nevertheless, we are going to try to achieve success on charter change,” he said.
The speaker also confirmed that he would run for the presidency.
“If there is a post that can bring greater benefit to the state and its citizens, that post will be my aim. Today, it is clear that the post that can achieve the most for the state and its citizens is the position of the president. Therefore, I am hoping to become the president beyond the 2015 election,” said Thura Shwe Mann.
Shwe Mann added that if the constitutional amendment was made during the current presidential term, it would be difficult to change all institutions accordingly. For that reason, he explained, the elections would be held in 2015. After that, the constitutional amendments would be enacted by the elected candidates during the next parliamentary term.
Dr Aye Maung, chairman of the Rakhine Nationalities and Development Party and member of the committee discussing constitutional amendments, said the referendum would have to be held in May 2015 in order to seek the approval of the people before enacting amendments.
“If the people support constitutional amendments, it would be approved. After the referendum, it would be necessary to enact the constitutional amendment during the remaining six months to hold the elections,” he said, challenging Shwe Mann’s insistence on enacting amendments only after the next election.
“Thura Shwe Mann and President Thein Sein should test their conversations and duties during the current presidential term. They should be held responsible for their claims. If they really love the country and the people, the constitution should be amended. It is clear that if amendments were only implemented beyond 2015, their party would hold onto power until 2020,” said Nyaing Serk, chairman of Chin National League for Democracy.
Thura Aye Myint of the ruling Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP) submitted a proposal to review the constitution on March 20, 2013. On August 1, Thura Shwe Mann assured members of parliament that he would strive to complete the constitutional amendment process before the 2015 elections at a press conference in Nay Pyi Taw.
On October 22, the constitutional amendment implementation committee released a report recommending the amendment 210 of 457 total sections of the constitution, including Section 59(F), which bars Aung San Suu Kyi from the presidency.
The committee also suggested amending Section 436, which bars any reform of the charter without full military approval. Representatives from the defence services oppose this amendment.
The implementation committee’s report will be discussed between November 13 and November 25.
“The parliament, the president and the Union parliament speaker all said the constitution would be amended. But now this has changed,” said Sai Leik, the spokesperson of Shan National League for Democracy (SNLD).
“The Asean Summit has finished, so the government is turning a blind eye to the opinions of the people. Now, the USDP is the ruling party. It is almost synonymous with the government. The opposition parties and ethnic parties must consider what to do next. We want to continue peace talks. We want to amend the constitution through political dialogue. It is not easy to amend the constitution in the inner circle of the parliament, so we must try to do it from the outer circle of the parliament.”
On November 18, Lower House MP Dr Zaw Myint Maung from National League for Democracy Party (NLD) said failure to change the constitution would leave a negative mark on the Union Parliament’s legacy. NLD earlier gathered nearly 5 million signatures supporting the change.
