Ruling party proposes new system for allocating seats in Parliament
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THE ruling Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP) party has proposed introducing a system of proportional representation, leading to a heated debate in the upper House of Parliament on June 10.
Ten representatives from the army, the ruling USDP, the opposition National League for Democracy (NLD) and ethnic minority parties discussed the proposal, which was submitted by MP Khin Waing Kyi from the USDP.
“We need to introduce a proportional representation system as it is best suited to our country,” said Khin Maung Yi.
“It cannot be said that it is too early to introduce this system. Our USDP party has started dealing with the issues such as the charter change and land grabbing. The current system has some weaknesses. Parliament must legislate to amend the one-party domination system,” he added.
Proportional representation is a principle applied to voting systems to elect an assembly or council to ensure that the number of seats won by a party or group of candidates is proportionate to the number of votes received.
For example, under such a voting system, if 30 per cent of voters support a particular party then roughly 30 percent of seats will be won by that party.
Myanmar has been practicing a first-past the post voting system in which voters elect a candidate who must win the majority of votes. This generally favours larger parties over smaller ones. However, because each electoral district votes for its own representative rather than a party, the elected candidate can be held accountable to their own voters.
“The majority of people assume that a proportional system gives more space for ethnic parties and minority parties. It is crucial to discuss whether it is suitable or not based on the time and circumstance. In that regard, we need to take account of the extent of our democratic maturity, financial ability and ethnic affairs,” said Major Win Thein, a MP from the army.
MP Myat Nyana Soe from the NLD added that even in the current system a big party is not in a position to become a ruling one, and that it was not the right time to talk about changing systems.
“The crucial point is that the parties must win the support of the people. The small parties may become big ones when they win that support. The ethnic parties and small parties may face difficulties if the ratio is set based on the population. Currently, it is not the right time to introduce this system,” said Myat Nyana Soe.
Upper House MP Man Kan Nyunt countered that introducing a proportional system was not going beyond the Constitution and would allow for greater representation.
“We regret that voters of the losing parties lose out due to the current system. It amounts to the losses of the people’s representatives. Introduction of this system may include more representatives, which prevents vote losses. So we should introduce this system,” he said.
MP Aung Kyi Nyunt argued that changing systems will only confuse people and make it difficult for people to understand in a country still recovering from decades of military dictatorship.
“The proportional system should not be introduced. The current system is a very simple one for the voters. Some experts have reviewed that due to this system, even an extremist or a terrorist group may get a post in the government in the future,” he said.
Most MPs criticised the proposal saying that it requires a lot of time to discuss changing systems, and that the country was not yet ready for this after only three years of economic and political reforms.
