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MYANMAR
Pyithu Hluttaw (House of Representatives)

Modules:
GENERAL INFORMATION ABOUT THE PARLIAMENTARY CHAMBER

Parliament name (generic / translated) Pyidaungsu Hluttaw / Assembly of the Union
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Structure of parliament Bicameral
Chamber name (generic / translated) Pyithu Hluttaw / House of Representatives
Related chamber (for bicameral parliaments) Amyotha Hluttaw / House of Nationalities
Affiliation to the IPU Yes
Affiliation date(s) 1948 - 1963 (Burma)
2012 -
LEADERSHIP
President T Khun Myatt (M) 
Notes Elected on 22 March 2018.
Secretary General Kyaw Soe (Parliament) (M) 
Tin Win Aung (House of Representatives) (M) 
Notes Mr. Kyaw Soe: Director General of Pyidaungsu Hluttaw
Mr. Tin Win Aung: Director General of Pyithu Hluttaw
COMPOSITION
Members (statutory / current number) 440 / 433
PERCENTAGE OF WOMEN


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Women (current number) 44 (10.16%)
Mode of designation directly elected 330
appointed 110
Notes Appointed members: Not more than 110 members who are Defence Services personnel are nominated by the Commander-in-Chief of the Defence Services.
Term 5 years
Last renewal dates 8 November 2015
(View details)
CONTACT INFORMATION
Address House of Representatives
Yaza Htarni Road
Pyithu Hluttaw
Nay Pyi Taw
Myanmar
(Export mailing lists)
Phone (95) 67 40 90 75 (Parliament Office)
67 59 12 15 (Parliament Office)
67 59 13 38 (House of Representatives)
Fax (95) 67 40 92 39 (Parliament Office)
67 69 54 6 (Parliament Office)
67 59 12 18 (Parliament Office)
67 59 10 85 (House of Representatives)
E-mail dg@pds.hluttaw.net
tinwinaung.pt@gmail.com
ir.dept@pds.hluttaw.net
Website
http://www.pyithuhluttaw.gov.mm/
http://www.myanmarparliament.gov.mm/

ELECTORAL SYSTEM

Parliament name (generic / translated) Pyidaungsu Hluttaw / Assembly of the Union
Structure of parliament Bicameral
Chamber name (generic / translated) Pyithu Hluttaw / House of Representatives
Related chamber (for bicameral parliaments) Amyotha Hluttaw / House of Nationalities
LEGAL FRAMEWORK
Electoral law 8 March 2010
Mode of designation directly elected 330
appointed 110
Constituencies 330 single-member constituencies
Voting system Majority: Majority vote with a possible run-off election.
- Elections are held only in the constituencies where there are several candidates. Fresh elections will be organized in case the sole candidate in these constituencies dies.
- The Election Commission may decide not to hold elections in some areas within the constituencies where the situation does not permit it. It may also transfer the polling booth to secure places. However, the elections as a whole are deemed valid if 51% of the voters on the electoral roll turn out at the polls.
- Each voter casts one ballot for a candidate of his/her choice. The candidate with the highest number of valid votes is declared elected. In case of a tie, a run-off election will be held.
- Vacancies are filled through by-elections.
Voting is not compulsory.
Voter requirements - Citizenship of Myanmar and born of both parents who are citizens;
- Age: 18 years or over on election day.
Disqualifications:
- members of religious orders;
- persons serving prison terms;
- persons determined to be and declared of unsound mind by a competent court;
- persons who have not yet been declared free from insolvency;
- persons disqualified by election law.
CANDIDATES
Eligibility - Qualified voters
- Citizenship of Myanmar and born of both parents who are citizens
- Age: 25 years or over
- Residence in the country for at least 10 consecutive years prior to the election. The official period of stay in a foreign country with the permission of the State shall be counted as a residing period in the country.
Ineligibilities:
- Persons serving prison term or persons convicted of an offence,
- Persons of unsound mind
- Persons declared insolvent by a court
- Persons who owe allegiance to a foreign government, subjects of a foreign government, or citizens of a foreign country
- Persons who are entitled to enjoy the rights and privileges of subjects of a foreign government or citizens of a foreign country
- Persons working for an organization owned by a foreign country
- Persons working for an organization that abets the act of inciting, through speech or by issuing a declaration, the decision to vote or not based on religion for political purposes
- Members of a religious order
- Civil servants
- Persons working for State-owned companies
- Persons who have committed electoral offences.
Incompatibilities - Members of the other chamber or regional parliaments.
Candidacy requirements - Candidature submitted by political parties or independent candidates.
- Political parties participating in the elections have to pay 300,000 kyat (US$ 300) to register and 500,000 kyat (US$ 500) for each candidate.
Note:
Myanmar uses two exchange rates: the official rate, which is tied to the Special Drawing Right (SDR, a type of international monetary reserve currency, created by the IMF in 1969) and the free market rate. The equivalent in US$ above has been calculated by applying the free market rate.

LAST ELECTIONS

Parliament name (generic / translated) Pyidaungsu Hluttaw / Assembly of the Union
Structure of parliament Bicameral
Chamber name (generic / translated) Pyithu Hluttaw / House of Representatives
Related chamber (for bicameral parliaments) Amyotha Hluttaw / House of Nationalities
BACKGROUND
Dates of election / renewal (from/to) 8 November 2015
Timing and scope of renewal The National League for Democracy (NLD), led by Ms. Aung San Suu Kyi, took an outright majority in both chambers of the parliament. The NLD took 255 of the 330 seats at stake in the 440-member House of Representatives and 135 of the 168 seats at stake in the 224-member House of Nationalities (a quarter of seats in both chambers are reserved for military personnel).

The ruling Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP) dropped from 259 to 30 seats in the House of Representatives and from 129 to 12 in the House of Nationalities. Only two other parties won more than ten seats: the Arakan National Party (ANP, representing the interests of the Rakhine people) and the Shan Nationalities League for Democracy (SNLD, representing the Shan minority). The USDP conceded defeat.

On 1 February 2016, the newly elected parliament was sworn in. On 15 March, it elected Mr. Htin Kyaw (NLD) as the country's new President.

During the election campaign, NLD promised constitutional and political reform to promote the rule of law and human rights, while the USDP ran on the government's record, stating that it had achieved a democratic path that gained international acceptance.

Following the elections, on 19 November, Ms. Suu Kyi and Mr. Shwe Mann held talks and agreed on "systematic and peaceful implementation of the people's desire" to prioritize "national reconciliation and national (ethnic) unity in forming the houses of parliament". On 2 December, Ms. Suu Kyi met President Thein Sein and Army Chief Min Aung Hlaing, who pledged to assist the smooth transfer of power.

These were the first general elections in which the NLD had taken part since 1990. In 1990, the NLD won 392 seats in the 492-member People's Assembly, but the newly-elected legislature was never convened and the election was eventually invalidated. The NLD boycotted the previous elections in 2010, condemning the electoral laws as "unjust". In April 2012, the NLD won all 37 seats at stake in by-elections to the House of Representatives and six in the House of Nationalities. As a result, Ms. Suu Kyi was sworn in to parliament the following month.
Date of previous elections: 7 November 2010

Date of dissolution of the outgoing legislature: 31 January 2016

Timing of election: Upon normal expiry

Expected date of next elections: November 2020

Number of seats at stake: 330 (full renewal)*
*Seven seats were not contested in the election due to ongoing challenges with ethnic unrest.
In addition, 110 seats are reserved for members who are Defence Services personnel, nominated by the Commander-in-Chief of the Defence Services.

Number of candidates: 1,733 (1,502 men, 231 women)

Percentage of women candidates: 13.3%

Number of parties contesting the election: 91

Number of parties winning seats: 11

Date of the first session of the new parliament: 1 February 2016

Name of the new Speaker: Mr. Win Myint (National League for Democracy, NLD)
STATISTICS
Voter turnout
Round no 18 November 2015
Number of registered electors
Voters
Blank or invalid ballot papers
Valid votes
34'295'334
23'911'784 (69.72%)

Notes
Distribution of votes
Round no 1
Political group Candidates Votes % of votes
National League for Democracy (NLD)
Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP)
Shan Nationalities League for Democracy (SNLD)
Arakan National Party (ANP)
Pa-O National Organisation (Pa O NO)
Ta'ang National Party (Ta'ang NP)
Lisu National Development Party (Lisu NDP)
Zomi Congress for Democracy (Zomi CD)
Kokang Democracy and Unity Party (Kokang DUP)
Independents
Kachin State Democracy Party (Kachin SDP)
Wa Democratic Party (Wa DP)
Distribution of seats
Round no 1
Political Group Total of seats
National League for Democracy (NLD) 255
Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP) 30
Shan Nationalities League for Democracy (SNLD) 12
Arakan National Party (ANP) 12
Pa-O National Organisation (Pa O NO) 3
Ta'ang National Party (Ta'ang NP) 3
Lisu National Development Party (Lisu NDP) 2
Zomi Congress for Democracy (Zomi CD) 2
Kokang Democracy and Unity Party (Kokang DUP) 1
Independents 1
Kachin State Democracy Party (Kachin SDP) 1
Wa Democratic Party (Wa DP) 1
Distribution of seats according to sex
Men

Women

Percent of women
390

43

9.71%
Distribution of seats according to age
Distribution of seats according to profession
Comments
Sources:
Assembly of the Union (04.12.2015, 06.12.2015, 01.01.2017)
Union Election Commission (09.02.2016)
http://www.idea.int/asia_pacific/myanmar/facts-about-women-ethnic-candidates-in-myanmar-elections.cfm
http://www.bbc.com
http://www.mmtimes.com
Kyodo News Service

This page was last updated on 4 April 2018
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