Reconsidering the Last Parliament

There was little enthusiasm about prospects for reform when the Union parliament convened for the first time in January 2011. The Burma Campaign UK derided the assembly as the preserve of “soldiers, ex-soldiers, pro-regime parties, corrupt businessmen and stooges” and noted that the junta-drafted 2008 Constitution reserved many of the usual powers of parliamentary democracy for the military leadership. After decades of authoritarian rule, many also doubted whether the military would be willing to cede real power to democratic institutions, other than what was necessary to create a façade of representative government.

Five years on, suspicions linger about the military but it is clear that the legislature has greatly exceeded the low expectations it laboured under. The committee system has thrived, the two hluttaws hosted reasoned debate, MPs consulted a broad range of civil society and other groups and, for the most part, comported themselves with dignity and in deference to the arcane traditions of parliamentary forums. Although the constitution is overwhelmingly weighted towards the president, and grants undemocratic reserve powers to the Tatmadaw commander-in-chief, the last five years have demonstrated that the parliament has the ability to function as a constitutional check on executive authority. (Courtesy of Frontier Myanmar)