New Parliament to Convene on Feb. 1

By Kyaw Hsu Mon 6 January 2016

RANGOON — Burma’s newly elected Parliament, dominated by the National League for Democracy (NLD), will convene earlier than expected on Feb. 1, according to the Speaker of the Lower House.

The second session of the year will see the induction of many new faces in the national legislature, after the NLD secured a landslide victory over the military-backed Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP) in a November vote.

Lower House Speaker Shwe Mann made the announcement on Facebook on Wednesday, stating that the session, which begins just one day after the current assembly closes on Jan. 31, will commence promptly at 10 am.

Incoming lawmakers have been invited by post and must confirm their attendance no earlier than Jan. 25 and no later than Jan. 26, the announcement said.

Ma Thandar, a Lower House MP-elect for the NLD, said the session is beginning earlier than expected but rookie lawmakers will do their best to prepare.

“We expected it to begin the first week of February; I think the first session only ends on Jan. 31. We’ll have to start preparations right away,” she said.

New NLD lawmakers will attend a three-day training session from Jan. 14 to 16, sponsored by the party, Ma Thandar said.

The NLD, led by chairwoman Aung San Suu Kyi, won nearly 80 percent of elected seats in both houses of Parliaments. Twenty-five percent of seats are reserved for military representatives.