Myanmar’s constitution can be only amended during the next government tenure and the upcoming 2015 general election will be held under the existing 2008 Constitution, Union Parliament Speaker U Shwe Mann told reporters in Nay Pyi Taw on November 18.
A nationwide referendum on the constitutional amendment will be organised next May before the general election, he said, adding that in a recent debate in the parliament, the non-elected military MPs, who account for 25 percent of the total parliamentarians, opposed the change of the constitution, including two sensitive sections 436 and 59(f).
U Shwe Mann said the amendment of Section 436 depends mainly on the president and the commander-in-chief of the Defense Services, while Section 59(f) deals with the basic rights of a citizen rather than aims to block opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi from presidential run.
The current Constitution, including 15 chapters with 194 pages, was promulgated in May 2008.-VNA
A nationwide referendum on the constitutional amendment will be organised next May before the general election, he said, adding that in a recent debate in the parliament, the non-elected military MPs, who account for 25 percent of the total parliamentarians, opposed the change of the constitution, including two sensitive sections 436 and 59(f).
U Shwe Mann said the amendment of Section 436 depends mainly on the president and the commander-in-chief of the Defense Services, while Section 59(f) deals with the basic rights of a citizen rather than aims to block opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi from presidential run.
The current Constitution, including 15 chapters with 194 pages, was promulgated in May 2008.-VNA
