Myanmar mulls invite for South-East Asian election observers

Feb 22, 2012, 6:03 GMT           .....

Yangon - Myanmar will 'seriously consider' allowing observers from South-East Asia to monitor the April 1 by-election, President Thein Sein said Tuesday.

He told Surin Pitsuwan, secretary-general of the Association of South-East Asian Nations (ASEAN), that observers could boost the legitimacy of the polls that are regarded as a test of the political reform process.

Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi and her National League for Democracy are contesting the by-election to fill 48 seats left vacant when cabinet members took office in March.

Earlier this month, the election commission hinted to visiting United Nations special rapporteur Tomas Ojea Quintana it was considering allowing international observers.
Thein Sein has initiated reforms since taking office last year, including opening talks with Suu Kyi, freeing more than 600 political prisoners and signing ceasefire agreements with ethnic minority insurgencies.

Hundreds of political prisoners remain in jail, however.

If Suu Kyi wins a parliament seat, she could become the official opposition leader and may even be given a cabinet post, observers in Yangon said.

Surin is the latest senior diplomat to visit Myanmar since it launched its reformist path last year. The country was under military dictatorships between 1962-2010, when an election brought the current pro-military government to power.

'We are not going back. We are going forward,' Information Minister Brigadier General Kyaw Hsan told Surin.

Myanmar is set to host the ASEAN summits in 2014 for the first time since joining the grouping in 1997.

http://news.monstersandcritics.com/asiapacific/news/article_1692111.php/Myanmar-mulls-invite-for-South-East-Asian-election-observers