23.03.2026 – 27.03.2026 A Tate Papers A Pine 2

The three Union Parliament representative groups will begin meetings on March 30 to elect the president and vice presidents.

The announcement was made by the Speaker of the Union Parliament, U Aung Lin Dwe, at the meetings of the Union Parliament representative groups that will select the vice presidential candidates to elect the president and vice presidents on the first day of the first regular session of the third Union Parliament held on March 20.

“According to Article 60 of the Constitution and Article 4 of the Law on the Election of the President and Vice Presidents, the Presidential Election Committee is formed by three groups of representatives of the Pyidaungsu Hluttaw, each of which must elect a Vice President. The three groups are (1) the elected Pyithu Hluttaw representatives, (2) the elected Amyotha Hluttaw representatives, and the military Hluttaw representatives. In order to elect a Vice President from each group of Hluttaw representatives, the Hluttaw representatives’ group meeting, where the Vice President candidates will be nominated, will be held on Monday, March 30, 2026, as determined in accordance with Rule (4) on the Election of the President and Vice Presidents,” said U Aung Lin Dwe, Speaker of the Pyidaungsu Hluttaw.

The meetings by groups are held in accordance with Rule (5), Sub-rule (a), (b) and Rule (28) Sub-rule (a) of the Act, the elected Pyithu Hluttaw representatives shall hold their elections at the Pyithu Hluttaw session hall, the elected Amyotha Hluttaw representatives shall hold their elections at the Amyotha Hluttaw session hall, and the Tatmadaw Hluttaw representatives shall hold their elections at a place designated by the Commander-in-Chief of the Defence Services, said Speaker U Aung Lin Dwayne.

Speaker U Aung Lin Dwayne said, “After the respective groups have elected a Vice President, the relevant Hluttaw Speaker shall submit the list of names of the elected Vice Presidents to the Speaker of the Pyithu Hluttaw in accordance with Rule 27 on the Election of the President and Vice Presidents. Similarly, a Tatmadaw Hluttaw representative assigned by the Tatmadaw representatives shall submit the list of names of the Vice Presidents elected by their groups to the Speaker of the Pyithu Hluttaw in accordance with Rule 29.”

In accordance with Rule 30 on the Election of the President and Vice Presidents, the President’s Scrutiny Committee, along with the Speakers and Vice Speakers of the two Houses of Parliament, should also select and submit a list of names of one elected Pyithu Hluttaw representative, one elected Amyotha Hluttaw representative, and one Hluttaw representative from the military cadre to participate in the Presidential Scrutiny Committee, said Speaker U Aung Lin Dwey.

Once the lists of names are received, the scrutiny of the President’s qualifications and the election of the President and Vice Presidents must proceed in accordance with the Law and Rules on the Union Parliament, the Law and Rules on the Election of the President and Vice Presidents, said Speaker U Aung Lin Dwey.

An official at the call center of MNA (Myanmar National Airline), which operates domestic and international flights, said, “Ticket sales are temporarily suspended. Due to fuel shortages, domestic flights are temporarily suspended. Please check back in April.”

MAI Airlines will temporarily suspend domestic flights, but will continue to operate international flights to Bangkok and Singapore.

Similarly, Air Thanlwin, which operates domestic flights, is also currently unable to sell tickets for the Yangon-Myeik route, according to a person planning to travel to Myeik.

“I am planning to go to Myeik around early April. They said the schedule for April has not been released yet. I asked if it would be okay for the end of March, and they said to call again tomorrow. They said they are not selling tickets yet,” said a person planning to travel to Yangon-Myeik.

Some domestic airlines have also suspended flights on March 20, according to some domestic ticket agents.

Domestic flights of Myanmar Airlines International (MAI), which operates domestic and international flights, have also been canceled starting March 20, according to some ticket agents.

The airlines announced last week that they had suspended the extra kilos that passengers were allowed to purchase for their flights due to the current fuel situation.

Myanmar National Airlines (MNA) and Myanmar Airlines International (MAI) announced the restrictions on March 19 morning, citing the current fuel shortage.

The restrictions were imposed on international and domestic flights, and Ruby and Diamond tiers of the airline’s Sky Smile program have been closed. Ruby tier passengers, who regularly use the airline, are entitled to 10 kilos for business class, MAI announced that the five-kilogram bonus for Economy Class, 20-kilogram bonus for Diamond Class, and 10-kilogram bonus for Economy Class have been suspended, and the restrictions will remain in effect until further notice.

Similarly, MNA Airlines will only be able to purchase a maximum of 10 kilograms of additional baggage at its Bangkok and Singapore counters, and that MNACLUB members, who are regular passengers on MNA, will also be suspended from purchasing additional baggage, the airline said.

The Iran-US/Israel conflict has led to fuel shortages around the world, with airlines in some countries temporarily grounded.