A representative from the Mon Unity Party (MUP) raised questions about the Chief Minister’s line of accountability in the context of the 2008 Constitution.
Nai Layae Tama, Joint-Secretary (1) of the Mon Unity Party (MUP) has argued that it is necessary to know clearly whether the Chief Minister of Mon State and leader of the State government is accountable to Parliament or to the President.
“In the 2008 constitution, it is not clear that the State Chief Minister including the Ministers of the State are accountable [to the State] Parliament or to the President who has appointed them. It is a constitutional issue,” said Nai Layae Tama.
The 2008 Constitution does offer this dual clarity (see underlined sections) on the matter. According to article 262 section (L) in the 2008 constitution: “(i), The Chief Minister of the Region or State shall be responsible to the President. (ii), The Ministers of the Region or State shall be responsible to the Chief Minister of the Region or State concerned and the President through the Chief Minister of the Region or State concerned.”
Nai Layae’s concern followed on the heels of a recent session of parliament, where he noted, “The government did not answer every question the representative[s] asked in the parliament.” He argued that although political parties have a majority of seats in Myanmar’s parliamentary structure that does not absolve parliamentarians from their responsibilities to answer the questions posed in the Hluttaw. Nai Layae Tama explained, the “Hluttaw is NLD’s and government is also NLD’s. To mention for party, it is one party. I do not want to criticize what is happening to them individually. The government needs to provide a spontaneous response to… questions from the public.”
Daw Khin Khin Leh, State Hluttaw Representative (Thaton Township, 1) noted that the forum to ask questions … ‘is not for parliament representatives benefits. We have to ask questions based on complaint letters, petition letters, inform letters of the public’s voice and letters of public opinion sent to our parliament representatives. Nothing is for our benefits”
During a recent meeting of the Mon State Parliament the government responded to 25 out of 49 questions before the meeting was rescheduled, eliminating the unanswered questions.
Critics also noted that In a previous special session (1/2019) of the Mon state parliament, held in May of this year, the government only answered questions orally, and no relevant documents were provided.
The debate about accountability in parliament and the influential role a majority party can have in the democractic process intensified, after the Mon State government acknowledged they did not call for a tender (bids) to construct a road between Aung Thabyay and Hnin-Kayin in Ye Township, nor had they received approval for the project from the State Counsellor.
In response to this issue, the Mon State Parliamentary Speaker Daw Thin Ei told media, “A powerful parliament steers a powerful democracy. The state government in the administrative sector is obstructing the administrative pillars instead of overseeing it. The Mon state government is exerting influence in the parliament.”
