Constitution Amendment Joint Committee submits two bills

28 January 2020
Constitution Amendment Joint Committee submits two bills
Members of Union Parliament attend a regular session of the Union Parliament in Nay Pyi Taw.

The Constitution Amendment Joint Committee put forward a bill in the Union Parliament that proposes an amendment to reduce military participation in parliaments. The committee also put forward another bill proposing revising how National Defence and Security Council seats are allocated.

The first bill proposes to gradually reduce the military's quota of parliamentary seats. It wants to reduce military quota to 15 percent in the Third Hluttaw (future parliament related to the 2020 elections), and to 10 percent in the Fourth Hluttaw (future parliament related to the 2025 elections), and to 5 percent in the Fifth Hluttaw.

According to the Constitution, a Border Affairs Minister is included in the National Defence and Security Council (NDSC). The second bill proposes to remove the Minister from the NDSC, and to add the Deputy Speakers of the Upper House and the Lower House to the NDSC.

The bills were put forward to the Union Parliament on 27th January.

There were 45 members in the Constitution Amendment Joint Committee when it was formed. But after some MPs resigned from the committee, currently, there are just 40 members.