MP gives Parliament amendment deadline
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The Parliament must have finished making constitutional amendments by July, said Aye Maung, president of the Rakhine Nationalities Development Party.
The MP said only if the preparations for constitutional amendment were finished before August could a referendum to amend Section 436 be held. The amending of Section 436(A) would be finished in three days, he said. Section 436(B) would take one or two weeks as there were more than 30 clauses that needed to be discussed. After the Parliament approves those sections, we will have to hold a nationwide referendum,” he said.
MPs agreed that after all discussions were finished, they would submit their discussions to the Parliament for approval.
A report by the constitutional amendment committee stressed the importance of transparency in voting and warned that voting machines might cause confusion. It said that international observers would record any problems.
The sections which should be amended are Section 59(D) and (F), Section 60 (D) and Section 436(A) and (B).
Lower House Speaker Thura Shwe Mann confirmed that discussions to amend Section 436(A) would conclude by June 25.
