Myanmar military retains veto after constitution change vote fails

Magnetic cards with various pictures of Aung San Suu Kyi are displayed for sale in a shop in Yangon April 5, 2015. REUTERS/Minzayar

NAYPYITAW (Reuters) - A move to amend Myanmar's constitution to remove the military's legislative veto on key decisions fell short of the required 75 percent support in parliament on Thursday, preserving the armed forces' powerful political stake.

The failure to trim the share of house votes needed to amend the constitution to 70 percent was no surprise given that unelected members of the military, which ruled Myanmar for half a century until 2011, hold a quarter of the seats.