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Myanmar, surprisingly, invites monitors for polls
Myanmar has sent out a surprisingly broad guest list for elections to showcase its democratic credentials to the world.
Yangon: Myanmar has sent out a surprisingly
broad guest list for elections Sunday, hoping to showcase its
democratic credentials to the world.
The by-election is likely to mark a symbolic turning point by bringing opposition leader and Nobel peace laureate Aung San Suu Kyi into Parliament for the first time, an event that would raise hopes for a more representative government after a half-century of repressive military rule.
However, with less than 10 percent of the chambers` seats contested, the polling will not shift power away from the military-dominated ruling party. Still, the government hopes foreign observers endorse the polling to help lift the country`s pariah status. Myanmar has invited each of its neighbors in the 10-nation Association of Southeast Asian Nations bloc to send a pair of observers and extended the offer to ASEAN`s so-called dialogue partners Australia, Canada, China, the European Union, India, Japan, New Zealand, South Korea, Russia and the United States.
Uncharacteristically, the formerly hermetic country is allowing the US and more than a dozen other countries to send observers to monitor the vote boosting hopes that this will be Myanmar`s freest and fairest election in decades. PTI
The by-election is likely to mark a symbolic turning point by bringing opposition leader and Nobel peace laureate Aung San Suu Kyi into Parliament for the first time, an event that would raise hopes for a more representative government after a half-century of repressive military rule.
However, with less than 10 percent of the chambers` seats contested, the polling will not shift power away from the military-dominated ruling party. Still, the government hopes foreign observers endorse the polling to help lift the country`s pariah status. Myanmar has invited each of its neighbors in the 10-nation Association of Southeast Asian Nations bloc to send a pair of observers and extended the offer to ASEAN`s so-called dialogue partners Australia, Canada, China, the European Union, India, Japan, New Zealand, South Korea, Russia and the United States.
Uncharacteristically, the formerly hermetic country is allowing the US and more than a dozen other countries to send observers to monitor the vote boosting hopes that this will be Myanmar`s freest and fairest election in decades. PTI