ASEAN will not certify Myanmar election or send observers, Malaysia says

The 11-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations will not send observers to army-ruled Myanmar's ongoing three-stage election and will therefore not endorse the poll, Malaysia's foreign minister said on Tuesday.



Myanmar has been ravaged by conflict since the military staged a coup against a civilian government in 2021.



The election, which began in December last year, has been criticised by the United Nations, many Western countries and rights groups as a ploy to legitimise military rule through political proxies - a charge the junta has denied.



In a low turnout, voters cast their ballots in the second stage of the poll earlier this month, with the military-allied Union Solidarity and Development Party leading after securing 88% of the lower house seats contested over the first phase.



Speaking in parliament, Minister Mohamad Hasan said ASEAN had rejected a request from Myanmar to send election observers during the annual leaders' summit in Kuala Lumpur last year, though some individual member states had decided to do so on their own.



"We have said that ASEAN will not send observers, and by virtue of that, we will not certify the poll," Mohamad said in response to a question from another lawmaker about Malaysia and ASEAN's position on the election.