The draft constitution effectively bars Ms Suu Kyi (above)from becoming president or a member of parliament because she was married to a foreigner. -- PHOTO: REUTERS

The draft constitution was completed in February but has not been made public.

A copy of the 457-article, 194-page proposed charter was obtained by reporters.

The draft charter allots 25 per cent of seats in both houses of parliament to the military.

It also effectively bars Ms Suu Kyi from becoming president or a member of parliament because she was married to a foreigner, maintaining a controversial clause from guidelines used to draft the charter.

The military junta announced in February it will hold a referendum in May on the new constitution, followed by long-awaited general elections in 2010.

The junta calls the process its 'roadmap to democracy'.

Critics have denounced the process as a sham designed to perpetuate military rule. The drafting process did not include Ms Suu Kyi or members of her opposition National League for Democracy.

The draft constitution legitimises a military takeover in the event of an emergency.

It empowers the president to transfer 'all powers' to the military's commander in chief for 'a duration of not less than one year' if a state of emergency arises.

It also stipulates that no amendments to the text can be made without the consent of more than 75 per cent of lawmakers - making proposed changes unlikely unless supported by the military's representatives in parliament.

The commander-in-chief of the armed forces will also be the most powerful person in the country, with the right to suspend the constitution at will.

However, the charter also enshrines many rights that have been absent for nearly the last two decades.

Under the proposed charter, the southeast Asian nation's 53 million people will be allowed to form political parties and unions and freedom of the press and religion will be protected.

Myanmar's myriad ethnic groups, many of whom have waged years of guerrilla war since independence from Britain in 1948, will also be accorded the specific right to promote their own languages and cultures.

While some people are refusing to approve any constitution spawned by a reviled military regime, others say it is better to have a bad constitution than none at all.

'We can't expect it perfect at the initial state and we should not delay till it is perfect,' one lawyer who asked not to be identified said.

'There will be freedom of expression, press, association, procession and so on that we haven't got now.'

Information Minister Kyaw Hsan said last week the charter would be open to incremental change after multi-party elections slated for 2010.

The new constitution is supposed to replace the one scrapped when the current junta took power in 1988.

The country's last election was held in 1990, but the military refused to hand over power to the winner - Ms Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy party.

Ms Suu Kyi has been in prison or under house arrest for more than 12 of the past 18 years.

The country has been in a political deadlock since 1990 with hundreds of Ms Suu Kyi's supporters also thrown in jail.

Myanmar, also known as Burma, has been under international pressure to make democratic reforms, especially after it violently quashed peaceful protests last September.

The UN estimates at least 31 people were killed and thousands more were detained in the crackdown. -- AP