Yangon, Myanmar's referendum to endorse a military-drafted constitution will be held on May 10, state television announced on Wednesday.

Aung Toe, Chairman of Commission for Holding the Referendum, appeared on Myanmar TV to confirm the date for the referendum.

Myanmar's opposition party, the National League for Democracy (NLD), led by Nobel Peace Prize laureate Aung San Suu Kyi, has already urged the public to reject the new charter, drafted by a military appointed forum.

The new constitution promised to institutionalize the dominant rule of the military in Myanmar's future political system, and exclude Suu Kyi on the grounds that she was married to a foreigner, the late Oxford professor Michael Aris.

The country has been ruled by the military since 1962. (dpa)