CNI News

19 March 2026

U Khin Yi, Chairman of the Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP) and Speaker of the Pyithu Hluttaw (House of Representatives), has instructed each USDP parliamentarian to prepare 10 motions, according to U Hla Swe, the USDP Pyithu Hluttaw representative for Pobbathiri Township, who spoke to CNI News.

U Hla Swe stated, "The Chairman instructed each USDP representative to prepare ten motions and questions. I have already prepared mine. For example, the right to recall a representative. Another is the amendment of Section 261 of the 2008 Constitution. We want to carry that out through a vote. Additionally, we have the '3Ps'—Public-Private Partnership. Currently, there is no 'PPP Law.' When such a law is absent, things don't work well, so we will submit a motion to the relevant ministry to enact a PPP Law. If this law is enacted, it will be much smoother. Recently, the Acting President also mentioned that since the country’s foundation is agriculture, dams and canals in Myanmar are currently state-owned rather than private. I believe if we enact laws to allow the private sector to manage small-scale dams, it will lead to more development."

Political observers noted that in the upcoming parliamentary sessions, priority may be given to discussing 43 points of constitutional amendment previously agreed upon between the National Solidarity and Peacemaking Negotiation Committee (NSPNC) and political parties.

U Khin Yi, Chairman of the USDP and Speaker of the Pyithu Hluttaw

Among those 43 points, the amendment of Section 261 is widely desired. Under the 2008 Constitution, Section 261 dictates that the President selects a person from among the local hluttaw representatives and appoints them as the Chief Minister of a Region or State.

U Hla Swe told CNI News that they aim to begin amending Section 261 in Hluttaw (Parliament), noting that it can be changed if 75 percent of the representatives support it. He argued that while the military, political parties, and Ethnic Armed Organizations (EAOs) all claim to be moving toward a Federal Democracy, Section 261 stands in contradiction to those principles.

"We talked about amending Section 261 in 2010 and 2015, but it didn't happen. Between 2015 and 2020, Daw Suu Kyi’s side also said they would amend it, but they couldn't," U Hla Swe said. "Section 261 is about the right to elect Chief Ministers from within their respective Region or State parliaments. We must amend this first. Currently, Section 261 requires the parliament to approve whoever the President nominates; if they don't like the choice, they can object, and a new name is submitted. We want to change the system so that the local parliament can propose, vote, and appoint their own Chief Minister. The military, the USDP, opposition parties, and EAOs all say we are going toward Federal Democracy, but this section is the opposite of that. Therefore, it must be amended. If 75 percent in Parliament vote for it, the constitution can be changed. That is why we aim to start there."

The USDP party signboard

The first regular session of the Third Pyithu Hluttaw commenced on March 16, where U Khin Yi was elected as Speaker and U Maung Maung Ohn as Deputy Speaker.

Furthermore, on March 18, the first regular session of the Third Amyotha Hluttaw (House of Nationalities) was held. U Aung Lin Dwe was elected as Speaker and Jeng Phang Naw Taung as Deputy Speaker.

Daw Dwe Bu, a USDP Amyotha Hluttaw representative who had been a popular rumored candidate for Vice President (2), was instead elected as the Chairperson of the Amyotha Hluttaw.