Pyidaungsu Hluttaw ပြည်ထောင်စုလွှတ်တော် | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Type | |
| Type | |
| Houses | Amyotha Hluttaw Pyithu Hluttaw |
Term limits | 5 years |
| History | |
| Founded | 31 January 2011 (2011-01-31) |
| Preceded by | Pyithu Hluttaw (1974–1988) |
| Leadership | |
T Khun Myat since 1 August 2018 | |
Vacant since 31 January 2021 | |
T Khun Myat since 22 March 2018 | |
| Seats | 664 224 Amyotha HluttawMPs 440 Pyithu HluttawMPs |
| Elections | |
Last Amyotha Hluttaw election | 8 November 2020 (annulled) |
Next Amyotha Hluttaw election | 28 December 2025 |
| Meeting place | |
 | |
| Pyidaungsu Hluttaw,Naypyidaw | |
| Website | |
| pyidaungsu | |
ThePyidaungsu Hluttaw (Burmese:ပြည်ထောင်စုလွှတ်တော်[pjìdàʊɰ̃zṵl̥ʊʔtɔ̀],lit. 'Union Assembly') is the national-levelbicamerallegislature ofMyanmar established by the2008 National Constitution, which has been dissolved temporarily since 2021. The Pyidaungsu Hluttaw is made up of two houses, the 224-seatAmyotha Hluttaw, or "National Assembly," and the 440-seatPyithu Hluttaw, or "People's Assembly". There is no mention in the 2008 Constitution of any ‘lower’ or ‘upper’ houses: both the Pyithu Hluttaw and the Amyotha Hluttaw enjoy equal power to initiate, review, amend, and pass legislation.[1]
Each of Myanmar's fourteen major administrative regions and states has its own local Hluttaw:Region Hluttaw (Region Assembly) orState Hluttaw (State Assembly).
Members of the second Pyidaungsu Hluttaw were elected in the8 November 2015 general election. On 16 March 2012,parliamentarians made the decision for the Pyidaungsu Hluttaw to re-join theIPU.[2]
After thecoup d'état on 1 February 2021, the Assembly was dissolved by ActingPresidentMyint Swe, who declared a one-yearstate of emergency and transferred all legislative powers toCommander-in-Chief of Defence ServicesMin Aung Hlaing.[3]
The Pyidaungsu Hluttaw is currently housed in a 31-building parliamentary complex in Naypyidaw.[4] The complex was constructed by ACE Construction, owned byTint San.[5] It is believed to represent the 31planes of existence inBuddhist cosmology, located in Zeya Theddhi Ward ofNaypyidaw.[6] The2025 Myanmar earthquake on 28 March significantly damaged the complex.[7][5]
TheRoyal Cabinet orHluttaw (Burmese:လွှတ်တော်[l̥ʊʔtɔ̀], lit. "delegation of royal [duties]") historically refers to the council of ministers in the king's court in pre-colonial Burma (Myanmar). The Hluttaw's origins trace back to thePagan era when KingHtilominlo (r. 1211–1235) created a royal cabinet of senior ministers to manage the day-to-day affairs of the government.[8]
During theKonbaung dynasty, the hluttaw was the centre of government and the kingdom's national administrative body, divided into three branches, namely fiscal, executive, and judicial (the wordhluttaw was originally refers to the cabinet but since the colonial times, hluttaw has been used to describe a parliament or legislative body.) TheByedaik (ဗြဲတိုက်) orPrivy Council maintaining the inner affairs of the royal court, whereas the Hluttaw managed the kingdom's administration.[9] The Hluttaw, as tradition, also had the duty of selecting the heir-apparent, whenever the incumbent king did not select one.[10]
In the Konbaung dynasty, the Hluttaw was in session for 6 hours daily, from 6 to 9 am, and from noon to 3 pm, attended by ministers (မင်းကြီး,Mingyi), ministers of third rank (ဝန်ထောက်, Wundauk), and head clerks (စာရေးကြီး,Sayegyi), as well as interior ministers (အတွင်းဝန်,Atwin Wun), who sat in the Byedaik.[11] It was tradition for the king to appoint four ministers, four interior ministers and four officers.[11]
On 2 January 1923, with the enactment of theMontagu–Chelmsford Reforms, Burma became a Governor's Province with a partially elected legislative council, theLegislative Council of Burma, consisting of 103 seats, with 80 filled by election.[12]
TheGovernment of Burma Act 1935 (26 Geo. 5 & 1 Edw. 8. c. 3) established theLegislature of Burma. During this period, the colonial Legislature consisted of two chambers, the 36-seat Senate and the 132-seat House of Representatives.[13]
From 1947 to 1962, under the 1947 Constitution, Burma's legislature, called theUnion Parliament, consisted of two chambers, the 125-seatLumyozu Hluttaw (the Chamber of Nationalities) and the 250-seatPyithu Hluttaw; (the Chamber of Deputies), whose seat numbers were determined by the population size of respective constituencies.[14]
From 1962 to 1974, there was no functionalhluttaw in existence, as the ruling government was the socialistUnion Revolutionary Council (RC).
From 1974 to 1988, under the 1974 Constitution, Burma's legislative branch was aone-partytoy parliament consisting of aunicameral chamber, thePyithu Hluttaw (the People's Assembly), represented by members of theBurma Socialist Programme Party.[15] Each term was four years. (In August 2010, the old Hluttaw complex onYangon'sPyay Road used by Gen.Ne Win'smilitary government was slated for occupation byYangon Division government offices.)[16]
Between 1988 and 2011, there was no functionalhluttaw, as the ruling government was theState Peace and Development Council.
The Pyidaungsu Hluttaw is a bicameral body made up of a 440-seatHouse of Representatives (Pyithu Hluttaw) and the 224-seatHouse of Nationalities (Amyotha Hluttaw). The Pyidaungsu Hluttaw consists of 664 members total. 75% of MPs (498 members) are directly elected by voters, while the remaining 25% (166 members) are military personnel appointed by theDefence Services' Commander-in-Chief.[17] This policy is similar to Indonesia'sNew Order model (as part of thedwifungsi doctrine), which guaranteed a number of parliamentary seats to military appointees.[18]
TheAmyotha Hluttaw is the upper house of the Pyidaungsu Hluttaw, with 12 seats accorded to each Region or State for a total of 168 directly elected seats. Of the 224 seats in the house, the remaining 56 are military appointees nominated by the Commander-in-Chief of the Defence Services.
ThePyithu Hluttaw is the lower house of the Pyidaungsu Hluttaw, with seats accorded to each of the 330 townships in the country. Of the 440 seats in this body, 330 are directly elected and 110 are military appointees nominated by the Commander-in-Chief of the Defence Services.
Burmese elections are held underuniversal suffrage for allBurmese citizens above the age of 18 and on a givenconstituency's roll of eligible voters. Voters are constitutionally guaranteed the right to vote viasecret ballot. However, members of religious orders (including members of the BuddhistSangha), prisoners, mentally unsound persons, and indebted persons are not allowed to vote for members of Parliament. Voting is not compulsory.[19] Burmese elections practise thefirst-past-the-post voting system (winner takes all), in which the candidate who receives the highest number of votes is elected.[20]
In the 2010 election, state media reported a voter turnout of 77.26%.[21] Advance voting was also widely practised, with military personnel and their family members, as well as civil servants, police force personnel and other state employees instructed to vote in advance.[22] This was in violation of the 2010 electoral laws, which only allow advance voting for eligible voters who are away from their constituencies, as well as overseas Burmese citizens.[22] In some constituencies, up to 95% of cast ballots were done in advance.[23] An estimated 10% of votes (6 million) were cast in advance.[24] There were also reports of multiple voter fraud, voter manipulation, ghost voting and coerced voting, in which individuals were pressured to vote forUnion Solidarity and Development Party candidates by officials.[23][25]
The two houses of the Pyidaungsu Hluttaw are simultaneously elected, with members of parliament (MPs) serving five-year terms. Ministerial nominees, who are selected from the pool of elected MPs, vacate their parliamentary seats. By-elections, determined by theUnion Election Commission, are held to fill these vacant seats.
The first regular session of the Pyidaungsu Hluttaw must be convened within 15 days of the commencement of thePyithu Hluttaw's first session. At least one regular session must be held per year, and subsequent sessions must be held within 12 months of each other. Special or emergency sessions can be convened by the President. Parliamentary sessions are only valid if 25% or more MPs are present.[citation needed]
The first session of the Pyidaungsu Hluttaw was held from January to March 2011, while the second was held from 22 August 2011 to.[26] Journalists were not allowed to attend the first session. However, theMinistry of Information announced on 12 August 2011 that they would be permitted to attend the second session.[27]
 |
|---|
|
Government
|
Judiciary
|
Exiled government
|
 Myanmar portal |
{{cite journal}}:Cite journal requires|journal= (help)[permanent dead link]{{cite journal}}:Cite journal requires|journal= (help)Legislatures of Myanmar | |
|---|---|
| Pyidaungsu Hluttaw |
|
| State Hluttaws | |
| Region Hluttaws | |
| In exile | |
| Defunct |
|
| |||||
| History |
| ||||
| Geography | |||||
| Politics | |||||
| Economy | |||||
| Society |
| ||||
| Sovereign states |
|
|---|---|
| States with limited recognition | |
| Dependencies and other territories | |
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Other | |
19°46′28″N96°6′13″E / 19.77444°N 96.10361°E /19.77444; 96.10361
