Aung San Suu Kyi’s hopes of capping a quarter-century journey from political prisoner to president of Myanmar have all but vanished after MPs threw out legislation that would have opened the way for her to stand.

Legislators rejected a bill to cut the 75 per cent-plus-one parliamentary supermajority needed for constitutional amendments, a clause that gives the military a veto because it holds a guaranteed quarter of legislative seats. MPs also voted to keep unchanged a nationality law that excludes the opposition chief and Nobel Peace Prize winner from the presidency because her two sons hold British passports.

The failure of the parliamentary push by Ms Suu Kyi’s allies this week appears to have closed the last window of opportunity for her to lead the country after landmark elections due this year.