President Htin Kyaw called for reform of the Myanmar’s military-drafted constitution today during a speech marking the country’s 70th Independence Day. However, he offered no details on how, why, or when that would happen.
“As we build the Democratic Federal Republic in accordance with the results of the political dialogues, we all need to work collectively for creating a suitable constitution,” the president said.
Amending the 2008 constitution, which gives the military a dominant role in Myanmar’s politics, was once a main priority of the National League for Democracy when it was the country’s opposition party. Party leader Aung San Suu Kyi campaigned tirelessly for constitutional reform in the run-up to the 2015 general election – a time when she still hoped to be elected as president of Myanmar.
However, after she formed the government as state counsellor and selected Htin Kyaw as a puppet president, Aung San Suu Kyi and her party placed the issue of constitutional reform on the backburner.
Discussion of constitutional reform has been especially muted since the Jan. 2017 assassination of lawyer Ko Ni, who was Aung San Suu Kyi’s main adviser on the issue.
In today’s speech, President Htin Kyaw did not elaborate on how or why the constitution should be made suitable.
The 2008 constitution bars citizens with foreign spouses or children from being elected president. Aung San Suu Kyi has two foreign sons.
It also gives authority over the ministries of defense, interior, and border affairs to the military and guarantees a quarter of the seats in parliament to military-appointed lawmakers, effectively giving them veto power over constitutional amendments. Without military support, the parliament cannot muster the 76 percent approval it needs to change the constitution.
When lawyer Ko Ni was alive, he actively sought ways to reduce military influence within Myanmar politics. He is thought to have been killed for this reason.
Although Ko Ni’s assassin was caught immediately, the killing is thought to have been ordered by a third party. The investigation into that third party’s whereabouts has stalled.
A column in today’s issue of the state-run Global New Light of Myanmar that stressed the importance of constitutional reform was equally vague about that means. The author wrote: “For shaping the State which is lagging behind in democratic movement into the Federal Democratic Union, the whole national populace collectively must make concerted efforts in the respective sectors assigned to us for the emergence of the Constitution in accord with the democracy standards.”
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