Southeast Asia’s Asean group has decided against dispatching monitors to Myanmar’s upcoming elections in December, according to diplomatic insiders on Monday. This development poses a challenge to the junta’s efforts to gain international acceptance.
The leader of the junta, Min Aung Hlaing, has portrayed the polls scheduled for December 28 as a move towards healing in the ongoing civil unrest triggered by his coup in 2021.
The current chair of Asean, Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, reiterated the urgent need for a ceasefire during a meeting in Malaysia. The leaders of the 11-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations expressed “serious concerns” about the conflict and highlighted a lack of significant progress towards achieving peace in a statement released late Sunday.
The statement emphasized that a halt to violence and all-inclusive political discussions should precede any electoral processes. A diplomatic source, speaking on condition of anonymity, clarified, “While Asean will not be sending official observers, member countries are allowed to send monitors independently on a bilateral basis.”
Another diplomatic source confirmed that there was no unanimous agreement among Asean members to deploy a monitoring mission under the organization’s name.