State and Region Hluttaws

Burma (also known as Myanmar) is divided into twenty-one administrative subdivisions, which include seven states (ပြည်နယ်; pyi ne, IPA: [pjìnɛ̀]), seven regions (တိုင်းဒေသကြီး; taing detha gyi, IPA: [táiɴ dèθa̰ dʑí]), six self-administered zones and one self-administered division (Wa Self-Administered Division). The regions were called divisions prior to August 2010,^[1]

Each State and Region has a State Hlutttaw or Regional Hlutttaw made up of elected civilian members and representatives of the Armed Forces. The Constitution of Burma grants the Myanmar Armed Forces' Commander-in-Chief the right to to appoint military officials to 1/3 of parliament seats, based on the number of elected MPs. The number of seats in each State or Region Hluttaw depends on the number of townships (each township constituency has 2 MPs), as well as ethnic representatives. The largest Hluttaws are the Shan State and Yangon Region Hluttaws, with 143 and 123 seats respectively, while the smallest are the Kayah State and Kayin State Hluttaws, which have 20 and 22 respectively.

The Current Hlutttaws were elected in the Burmese general election on 7 November 2010 and were first convened on 31 January 2011.^[2] The majority party in all of the State and Region Hluttaws is the government-backed Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP), with the exception of Rakhine State Hluttaw, which is led by the Rakhine Nationalities Development Party. In July 2011, Maung Kyaw Thein, a Rakhine Nationalities Development Party MP representing Pauktaw Township, was disqualified by the Union Election Commission for allegedly defaming USDP and the State Peace and Development Council during the election campaign.^[3]

Region Hluttaws

State Hluttaws

Leaders of the State and Regional Hluttaws in Burma

See also

• Pyidaungsu Hluttaw
• Amyotha Hluttaw
• Pyithu Hluttaw
• Administrative divisions of Burma

References