Signature campaign draws to a close

According to Tun Tun Hein, NLD executive member, the signature tallying will take place at NLD headquarters in Yangon. Signatures from all parts of the country will be transported to the headquarters.

“The tallying should be completed on July 26. Then, the result will be released to the public,” Tun Tun Hein said. He added that the NLC central executive committee would consider what to do next with the results.

In June, the party announced that it had collected more than 3 million signatures.

NLD chairman Aung San Suu Kyi earlier said that the petition would be submitted to Parliament, to show policymakers how desperate Myanmar people are to amend the junta-imposed 2008 Constitution.

“Regarding constitutional amendment, the compliance of the people’s will should decide the trustworthiness of Parliament,” she said.

The signature campaign kicked off on May 27 and ran until July 19. It seeks public support to amend Section 436, which guarantees the military the power to block charter amendment.

The charter change is seen as a means to deepen democracy, improve equality of ethnic groups and introduce a federal Union system.

The NLD and the public is also seeking to amend a clause that bars Suu Kyi – with a foreign husband (deceased) and children who hold foreign passports – from contesting the presidential race next year.

The campaign, supported by the 88 Generation Peace and Open Society, drew support from high-profile figures, including artists and writers, as well as marginalised groups such as people with disabilities.

“We can see some political forces collecting signatures for constitutional amendment. We are keeping a close watch on efforts for necessary amendments to meet democratic values,” President Thein Sein said in a previous statement.

Thura Aung Ko, executive member of the ruling Union Solidarity and Development Party, warned on May 28 that the country might plunge into crisis if the government ignored demands for charter change. He also said the peace process with ethnic groups might collapse.

Throughout the campaign period, Suu Kyi travelled the country drawing crowds of thousands with speeches urging the military to accept a reduced political role, as her party of democracy veterans touts its moral authority in the former army-run nation.

Under Section 436, support from more than 75 per cent of MPs is required to alter the Constitution, which gives the military the right to appoint 25 per cent of MPs.

A member of the Constitution amendment committee, which like Parliament is dominated by the military and ruling army-backed Union Solidarity and Development party, told AFP the petition would make no difference to its deliberations.

He said the 31-member group would release its first recommendations in the coming days, but that these are only based on suggestions received before a December deadline.

“They should have done this earlier,” he told AFP on condition of anonymity because members have been directed not to reveal their deliberations.

AFP quoted independent Myanmar expert Renaud Egreteau as saying that the military, while not wanting to return to direct rule, views its legislative influence as part of its “guardian” role so it “wants no big change in anything”.

“It seems that everybody has in mind that after 2015 many things will be different. But nobody knows how,” he said.