Burma’s Constitutional Tribunal members should resign: Shwe Mann

15 Aug 2012 12:04
Written by Kyaw Phone Kyaw
Category: Myanmar

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A dispute between the Burmese government’s Constitutional Tribunal and Lower House MPs has led Speaker Shwe Mann to ...

Rangoon (Mizzima) – A dispute between the Burmese government’s Constitutional Tribunal and Lower House MPs has led Speaker Shwe Mann to say on Tuesday he will ask for the resignation of the tribunal’s chairperson and members.

Burmese Lower House of Parliament Speaker Shwe Mann Photo: Pyithu Hluttaw

He said on his office’s official website that he would send a letter to the president urging the chairperson and members of the tribunal to voluntarily resign by August 21.

In the third week of March, the Constitutional Tribunal said that the committees and commissions formed by the parliamentary Lower and Upper houses are not “union-level” bodies. The ruling was met with disbelief by many members of Parliament.

If the committees and commissions formed by the parliament are not “union-level” bodies, they will be inferior to “union-level” government members. If so, when a parliamentary committee or commission seeks to regulate “union-level” government entities, the efforts of the parliamentary bodies could be called into question, said MP Khaing Maung Yi.

Meanwhile, the dispute is ongoing.

Shwe Mann said the Constitutional Tribunal made a mistake in its ruling and that it harmed the reputation of MPs and called into question their ability to perform their duties.

The Lower House deputy speaker and Lower House Rights Committee chairman Nanda Kyaw Swa proposed to impeach the tribunal in remarks he made in April and early August.

Shwe Mann said he prefers to appeal to President Thein Sein to help resolve the issue.

He urged MPs to be patient and to wait for a decision from the president and to resort to impeachment proceedings only if necessary, according to the office’s webpage.