Myanmar · Constitution
Constitution of the Republic of the Union of Myanmar
Adopted by referendum in 2008 and operative from 2011. It created a bicameral legislature in which 25 per cent of seats in each chamber are reserved for serving military officers appointed by the Commander-in-Chief, gave the military control of the defence, home affairs and border affairs ministries, and required more than 75 per cent of the legislature to amend entrenched provisions — making the reserved bloc a permanent veto. Chapter XI provides for states of emergency, the mechanism invoked in February 2021. Its guarantees are suspended in practice.
The constitutional text
Adopted by referendum in 2008 and operative from 2011. It created a bicameral legislature in which 25 per cent of seats in each chamber are reserved for serving military officers appointed by the Commander-in-Chief, gave the military control of the defence, home affairs and border affairs ministries, and required more than 75 per cent of the legislature to amend entrenched provisions — making the reserved bloc a permanent veto. Chapter XI provides for states of emergency, the mechanism invoked in February 2021. Its guarantees are suspended in practice.
Separation of powers
Nominally a union of seven regions, seven states, one union territory and six self-administered zones and divisions, each with its own legislature under the 2008 Constitution. In practice the region and state legislatures are suspended or subordinated to the military administration, and chief ministers are appointed centrally.
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