Myanmar's parliament on Thursday
voted against a constitutional amendment that would allow
veteran opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi to stand in
presidential elections later this year.
The former military junta-drafted constitution bars those
with a foreign spouse or children from the presidency.
The 1991 Nobel Peace Laureate's late husband and two sons
are British.
Elections are expected later this year and Suu Kyi's
opposition party National League for Democracy is in pole
position following its sweeping victory in by-elections in 2012.
On Thursday parliament also voted against a proposal to
lower the majority of votes needed to change the constitution
from the current 75% to 70%.
Given that the constitution currently guarantees 25% of
parliamentary seats to the army's nominees this effectively
means that the military has the power to veto any constitutional
change.
A reform process has been underway in Myanmar since
November when military rule was replaced by a new
military-backed civilian government after the first elections in
20 years.
Suu Kyi was subsequently released from house arrest after
spending the best part of two decades in some form of
confinement.
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