Pyidaungsu Hluttaw Office Announcement (1/2021)


ပြန်ကြားရေးဝန်ကြီးဌာန/ နေပြည်တော် / January 13, 2021


Republic of the Union of Myanmar

Pyidaungsu Hluttaw Office

Announcement (1/2021)

14th Waning of Nadaw, 1382 ME

12 January 2021

1. A total of 203 Pyidaungsu Hluttaw representatives including U Thaung Aye (Pyithu Hluttaw MP in Pyawbwe Constituency, Mandalay Region) submitted a letter dated 11-1-2021, calling for a special session of the second Pyidaungsu Hluttaw. The Speaker of Pyidaungsu Hluttaw, by letter No 2/4/10 (5)/ Pa Hta Sa- 2021 dated 12-1-2021, replied MP U Thaung Aye and his group as follows:

“By referring to section 84 of the Constitution and section 17 of the Pyidaungsu Hluttaw Law, 33 elected Pyithu Hluttaw representatives including U Thaung Aye, 10 elected Amyotha Hluttaw representatives and 160 Tatmadaw Hluttaw representatives (a total of 203 Pyidaungsu Hluttaw representatives) submitted a letter dated 11-1-2021, calling for a special session of the second Pyidaungsu Hluttaw.

Regarding convening a special emergency session of Pyidaungsu Hluttaw, section 81, 82, 83 and 84 of the Constitution say as follows:

“81. Matters that require resolutions, consents and approvals of the Pyidaungsu Hluttaw shall be implemented as follows :

  1. if the Pyidaungsu Hluttaw is in session, the matter shall be discussed and resolved at that session;
  2. if the Pyidaungsu Hluttaw is not in session, the matter shall be discussed and resolved at the nearest Pyidaungsu Hluttaw session;
  3. a special session or an emergency session shall be convened to discuss and resolve matters which need urgent action in the interest of the public.

82. The Speaker of the Pyidaungsu Hluttaw may convene a special session or an emergency session, if necessary.

83. The Speaker of the Pyidaungsu Hluttaw shall convene a special session or an emergency session as soon as possible when the President informs him to do so.

84. The Speaker of the Pyidaungsu Hluttaw shall convene a special session as soon as possible, if at least one-fourth of the total number of the representatives so require.”

According to section 83 and 84 of the Constitution, the President or at least one-fourth of the total number of Pyidaungsu Hluttaw representatives can call for an emergency session. Still the main reason needs to be in line with the provision of section 81 of the Constitution.

When we examined the main reason for the special Hluttaw session requested by the above-mentioned letter, we found that the main reason for the demanded special session is to make discussions on electoral complaints of the 2020 multiparty general elections. The letter also called for a smooth end to the current Hluttaw term and a smooth transition to a new one in accordance with the relevant laws.”

Regarding electoral issues, section 402 of the Constitution says as follows:

“402. The decisions and functions made by the Union Election Commission on the following matters shall be final and conclusive :

(a) election functions;

(b) appeals and revisions relating to the resolutions and orders of the election tribunals;

(c) matters taken under the law relating to political parties”

Similarly, section 11 of the Union Election Commission Law says as follows:

“11. The decisions and functions of the Commission on the following matters shall be final and conclusive:

(a) election functions;

(b) appeals and revisions relating to the resolutions and orders of the election tribunals;

(c) matters taken under the law relating to political parties”

At present, the COVID-19 disease still spreads in the country, and there are only about 20 days left in the second term of the Hluttaws. According to the rules of the Pyidaungsu Hluttaw, MPs must be invited at least 15 days in advance for a special session, so there will be only three days for the demanded session. Moreover, the first regular sessions of the third Hluttaws, which is required by the Constitution, must be convened on 1-2-2021, so invitation letters have been sent to MPs since 6-1-2021 in accordance with relevant laws.

The main reason given by the letter calling for a special session is not the matters that require resolutions, consents and approvals of the Pyidaungsu Hluttaw as mentioned in section 81 of the Constitution. Moreover, section 402 of the Constitution and section 11 of the Union Election Commission Law say that the decisions and functions made by the Union Election Commission shall be final and conclusive, so the issue pointed out by the letter is not the matter to be decided collectively in a Pyidaungsu Hluttaw session. The electoral complaints are matters that must be addressed just by the Union Election Commission under relevant laws and rules. So, we would like to reply that it is unnecessary to convene a special session of the second Pyidaungsu Hluttaw.”

2. Therefore, it is announced that no special session will be convened.

Ref; The Global New Light of Myanmar