Government
Elections
Woman MPs up, but hluttaw still 90% male
The number of women who will sit in the national parliament next year has more than doubled on current figures, but Myanmar looks set to remain at the bottom of the table in ASEAN for gender equality in national politics with women accounting for just ...
President, Senior General to meet Daw Aung San Suu Kyi on 2 December
Top-level talks on the transfer of power to Myanmar’s next government are to take place on 2 December. President U Thein Sein and Senior General Min Aung Hlaing released statements on 1 December saying they had agreed to meet Daw Aung San Suu Kyi separately on 2 ...
Yangon police open almost 100 election-related cases
Yangon Region police say 95 cases have been opened due to complaints filed in relation to the 8 November election. The majority involve alleged infractions of electoral laws, but 18 are being considered under other laws, such as the criminal code, the Electronic Transactions Law and ...
Election offers glimmer of hope for Kayan
Among its many victories in the 8 November election, the National League for Democracy won the seat of the minister for ethnic Kayan people in Shan State. The incoming minister, U Khun Aye Maung, says now things are going to change. Known to the world’s tourists ...
Nationalism defeated at the ballot box
Why did self-proclaimed nationalist parties fare so badly in the election? Though the absence of opinion polls and comparable electoral data made it difficult in advance to gauge the extent of support for any party, nationalist candidates appeared to be well-organised and amply funded. The hardline ...
Cambodian groups urge 'free and fair' election pledge
A coalition of election monitoring NGOs on 19 November urged the government to endorse an international commitment to free and fair elections, and to evaluate the Kingdom’s elections according to its standards. Koul Panha, executive director of election watchdog Comfrel – part of the umbrella group Electoral ...
Delayed post-election talks put transition in doubt
President U Thein Sein appears to have delayed indefinitely a meeting with Daw Aung San Suu Kyi to discuss the transfer of power to a new government following her party’s landslide election victory. A representative of the president says talks with the National League for Democracy ...
Camp residents look to NLD win for better future
Internally displaced persons living in camps on the outskirts of Sittwe have expressed hope the National League for Democracy’s election landslide will pave the way to ensuring their human rights and ending discrimination against them, saying little has improved in the three years since the ...
Myanmar government drives up budget deficit with additional spending
President U Thein Sein’s outgoing government has submitted a supplementary budget request to parliament of K2.464 trillion (US$1.92 billion) with the defence ministry in line to receive the largest allocation, while health and education spending remain close to the bottom of the list. If approved by ...
Myanmar's outgoing MPs ease back in to work
As parliamentarians arrived at the vast entrance hall to the Pyithu Hluttaw on 16 November morning, they were doing their best to keep their expressions neutral – none more so than the last to arrive. Daw Aung San Suu Kyi is known for maintaining a steely expression ...
