36 > Next Generation Myanmar FIGURE 13 Figure 13: Approval of institutions in respondents’ areas Local/village administration Civilian township administration Military township administration Region/state parliament Region/state government Union parliament Union government 0 20 40 60 Neither approve nor disapprove Do not know Approve Disapprove Attitudes towards institutions Government institutions Myanmar’s transition has changed the structure of its government. The 2008 constitution maintained the delineation of its 1974 predecessor, demarcating the country into 14 administrative states and regions, each with its own elected civilian parliament. Now, young voters not only elect their Union government officials in competitive elections, they also choose their representatives for their regional Hluttaw in competitive contests as well. Local governance, however, remains a complex balance between civilian and military rule. The day-to-day governance of Myanmar’s 330 townships, and the villages they contain, is centralised within the General Administration Department (GAD). At the time of writing, the GAD remains a division of the Ministry of Home Affairs, a ministry reserved for the military by the 2008 constitution, though plans for reform have recently been announced. Myanmar’s unique hybrid of civilian and military authority is present even at the most local level of government. Youth surveyed in this study, however, made little distinction between civilian and military authorities at the local level: 58 per cent and 59 per cent of respondents approved of the actions of the civilian and military township administrations in their area, respectively (see Figure 13). Survey respondents also disapproved of civilian and military local authorities at an equal rate of five per cent. When asked about the actions of their local/ village administrations, bodies that are part of the GAD that is overseen by the military, 72 per cent of respondents approved of them. Nearly one in five (18.5 per cent) reported to strongly approve of them. Approval varied between administrative divisions (ranging from around 60 per cent in Mandalay, Kachin, Chin and Bago to over 80 per cent in Ayeyarwady, Kayah and Magway), though a great majority approved of their local administrations throughout the country. The actions of Union- and region-level government institutions in respondents’ areas were approved less frequently. Little more than half of respondents (55 per cent) approved of either level of government’s actions in their areas. 80 100 Prefer not to say Notably, elected bodies were the least approved bodies among youth surveyed, with only 54 per cent of respondents reporting to approve of Hluttaw actions. In interviews, several youth explained that these government institutions simply seemed too distant, too ‘far flung’ from their daily lives. ‘I do not keep track of the activities of the Union Hluttaw. We do not have the information, I feel,’ said one recent graduate and activist in Bago. ‘Here I am involved in the local level, that’s why I know the local level.’ Others felt elected bodies could do more to be more representative and more accountable. This view is summarised in the account of one 25-year-old female social worker, who explained: ‘The Ayeyarwady region government is very different from before. There is more transparency, they welcome the youth and meet often with the public. The social welfare minister often asks the youth what they want, he is really friendly. However, in general the government is slow at working.