Military members of parliament cast their votes on a draft amendment to the constitution at a session of parliament in Naypyidaw on June 25, 2015.(Agence France-Presse)
Motions to amend Myanmar's constitution to remove a military legislative veto on key decisions and change rules that effectively bar Aung San Suu Kyi from the presidency failed on today to win sufficient support in parliament.
The ballot followed a three-day joint session to debate changes to the army-drafted constitution and votes to amend the two key clauses fell short of the more than three-quarters support needed to put them to public referendum.
The military holds a quarter of legislative seats in what amounts to veto power on changes to the constitution.
Two motions sought to trim the share of house support required to amend the charter to 70 per cent and to change some qualification criteria covering presidential candidates. However, even if the second of these had passed, the popular Nobel laureate Suu Kyi would still not have been eligible to become president because her two children are British.
© Thomson Reuters 2015