Voting result of Myanmar's constitution amendment bill comes as no surprise

NAY PYI TAW -- Leader of Myanmar's National League for Democracy (NLD) Aung San Suu Kyi said on Thursday that the voting result of Myanmar's constitution amendment bill came as no surprise.

Speaking at a press conference in Nay Pyi Taw following the vote on the amendment bill in the parliament, Suu Kyi said that although the bill, submitted by the ruling Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP), was not a complete one, the vetoing of the bill shows reluctance for reforms.

Suu Kyi, who holds the post of chairperson of the Committee for Rule of Law and Tranquillity of the House of Representatives ( Lower House), said her party does not regard the failure to amend the Section 436 (a) and Section 59 (f) of the constitution as a defeat but was satisfied with having the opportunity to discuss the stance of the party in the parliament.

Myanmar's parliament on Thursday vetoed all six sections of the amendment bill but one after a three-day debate.

The only one section, which was voted in favor, is Section 59 ( d) dealing with the qualification of a presidential candidate.

The amendment proposes that the candidate shall be well acquainted with the affairs of defense instead of military.

The amendment for the remaining five sensitive sections -- 59 ( f), 436(a), 436 (b), 60 (c) and 418 (b) were turned down as the number of voters stood less than the required 75 percent to pass the bill.

The voting was done by 583 members of parliament out of 633 through a secret ballot system.

Discussions on other sections of the amendment bill for the 2008 constitution will continue later, according to the parliament.

The constitution was promulgated in May 2008 to serve as a base for the November 2010 general election.

The present term of the government which started from March 2011 is to end in March 2016.