Sources from Myanmar indicate that the U Thein Sein government is considering launching a referendum on a constitutional amendment, which has raised speculation about whether Aung San Suu Kyi, the most famous opposition leader, will get a chance to run in the presidential elections late this year.

According to the 2008 Constitution, candidates for the president and the two vice-presidential positions are recommended by the military, the House of Nationalities and the House of Representatives, with one candidate for one side. Since the Suu Kyi-led National League for Democracy (NLD) has seats in the Assembly of the Union, this pro-democracy party is eligible to compete for presidency.

However, there are two major obstacles that stand in the way of qualifying Suu Kyi as a presidential candidate.

The first one is that Suu Kyi is not allowed to pursue the presidency because the constitution bars anyone who is married to foreigners or whose children have foreign citizenship from becoming president.

The second one is that a quarter of seats in both parliamentary chambers are reserved for the military, whose primacy in presidential elections is thus preserved.

So far there is no official elaboration on how to amend the constitution. But unless both articles of the constitution can be changed, Suu Kyi has no chance to be elected. Therefore, many concerns have been raised, suspecting that Myanmar is unlikely to revise both articles through a referendum this year.

Suu Kyi has apparently not given up. She is pushing the authorities to revise the constitution, and her party is also fielding other competitive candidates for the presidential elections.

Regardless of whether Suu Kyi can acquire the eligibility or not this year, it is imperative that the constitution must be amended at least before 2020.

Myanmar has chosen parliamentary democracy. So far it seems to be a bumpy road, but there is little chance that the junta will return to power.

The military's gradual withdrawal from politics is a delicate issue in Myanmar. But it matters for both the citizens of Myanmar as well as for neighboring countries such as China, whose borders are profoundly influenced by Myanmar's ethnic conflicts.

Myanmar's government forces and ethnic armed forces have been bogged down in a 60-year-long enmity. Antagonism cannot be addressed unless both sides sustain a political foundation on which mutual agreements can be reached.

The decrease of the military's involvement in politics and the economy will strengthen confidence between the government and the ethnic armed forces. Besides, a de-militarized political environment will draw more foreign investments.

Such mutual trust cannot be established without the involvement of Suu Kyi's NLD. As far as we can see, only the NLD is able to assume a reliable leadership role in national politics.

Although some Myanmese minorities have different opinions about her, Suu Kyi has enormous vitality in the future political landscape of Myanmar. If the NLD can become part of the next government and can play a role in the negotiation of national reconciliation, it will gain more trust.

It takes time for the military to withdraw from politics, but it's inappropriate that the military maintains its privilege in current politics.

The military has also realized this, so it decided to support the democratic reforms that the country is undergoing. But as the reforms are running deep, the military will have to compromise in many fields in which it has a vested interest, which might result in intense conflicts.

As for neighboring countries such as China, they should support Myanmar to make the reforms carry on and take the revision of the constitution as a step. Reducing military intervention in political life is a fundamental condition for the country to set up a stable system.

So far, Myanmar is still in changes, and China's investments have been affected. But in the long term, as long as China sticks with its policy to assist Myanmar, the Myanmese will understand and remember the benefits from a good neighbor.

The author is a senior editor with People's Daily. He is now stationed in Brazil. dinggang@globaltimes.com.cn. Follow him on Twitter at @dinggangchina