Karen Party Proposes Constitutional Reform to Give the People ‘More Say’

The Karen People’s Party (KPP) has formally submitted a proposal for constitutional reform with the object of making the State Chief Ministers elected by the people, rather than appointed by the government of the day, as is the case now.

Nant Khin Aye Oo, from the KPP, said: “The people know those who are good and intelligent in their own state. We want them to choose for themselves. We submit this treatise because we want a bottom-up approach. The people also want it. We are sharing their wish.”

Currently, Chief Ministers are directly appointed by the President and then ratified by Parliament. The current process was set in place by the 2008 constitution, which was drafted by the then military government.

U Ko Ni, a well-know lawyer in Ragoon, told Karen News: “To get the agreement of the military MPs, the Commander-in-Chief also has to agree. If the Commander-in-Chief doesn’t agree, the constitution cannot be amended. So, we need to agree on a number of decisions at the conference. These decisions will determine if the military can change it’s attitude. Electing Chief Ministers of states will then be possible.