Section 3 | RULES OF THE GAME While the November 2015 elections saw the military’s legislative representation decrease from 89 percent to 25 percent, its strong foothold in the legislative branch is reinforced by executive controls. For example, the military retains jurisdiction over the General Administration Department (GAD) under the Ministry of Home Affairs. The head of the GAD, which acts as the civil service for the state and region governments and administers districts and townships,153 is appointed by the commander in chief rather than the president, and many staff are former military or have familial or financial ties to the Tatmadaw and are well positioned to function as spoilers of the new administration’s reforms at local level. In the NLD’s first six months in office, “the military has been willing to play by the established, constitutional rules, for now, and to work with the new government in its implementation of its legislative and executive mandates.”154 For its part, as the NLD does not control all the line ministries, it must avoid provoking the military with reforms within the pillars that it does control. Given this, there seems little government incentive to loosen online surveillance and ICT disruption powers such as those contained in the Telecommunications Act of 2013, or to invest heavily in ICT infrastructure in conflict-affected areas until any peace settlements have been achieved. This, in turn, affects ICT uptake among women with very limited mobility in those areas. For Tatmadaw-related economic disincentives to supporting reforms such as a USF that would help close the gender digital divide, see section 3.2 below. LEGISLATIVE: HLUTTAW Reinstated in 2012, the union (national) legislature, known as the Pyidaungsu Hluttaw, is comprised of the Pyithu Hluttaw (Lower House) and Amyotha Hluttaw (Upper House).155 As noted above, only 75 percent of members of parliament are elected by popular vote, and the remainder are appointed by the military. Kyi Pyar Chit Saw and Matthew Arnold, Administering the State in Myanmar: An Overview of the General Administration Department, Discussion Paper No. 6 (Yangon: Asia Foundation and Myanmar Development Resource Institute Centre for Economic and Social Development, October 2014). 154 Kyaw Sein and Nicholas Farrelly, Myanmar’s Evolving Relations: The NLD in Government (Stockholm: Institute for Security and Development Policy, October 2016). 155 Between 1988 and 2011, there was no functional hluttaw (legislative body), as the military regime ruled through the State Peace and Development Council. 153 Ending the Gender Digital Divide in Myanmar: A Problem-Driven Political Economy Assessment | 48