Yangon - Myanmar has no need for foreign observers to monitor its first elections in two decades, state media reported on Wednesday, despite international concerns that the polls will lack legitimacy.
"International watchdog groups do not need to come," the chair of the country's election body told a visiting US envoy, according to the New Light of Myanmar newspaper.
"Arrangements have been made to ensure free and fair elections," Election Commission chairperson Thein Soe was quoting as telling US Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs Kurt Campbell on Monday.
Election candidates will be allowed to appoint a representative and helper to observe polling stations and the ballots are to be counted in front of the voters, Thein Soe said. Critics say the polls are aimed at simply entrenching the ruling generals' power.
Campbell met several government ministers and opposition leaders, including detained democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi, during his two-day visit to the military-ruled country.
Military rule
He said following his talks that the US was "profoundly disappointed" in the junta's preparations for the upcoming elections and wanted "immediate steps" to address fears that they would lack legitimacy.
Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy (NLD) was forcibly dissolved last week under widely criticised laws governing the elections, which are scheduled for some time later this year.
The NLD refused to meet a deadline on May 6 to re-register as a party - a move that would have forced it to expel its own leader - and boycotted the vote.
Under election legislation unveiled in March, anyone serving a prison term is banned from being a member of a political party and parties that fail to obey the rule will be abolished.
A faction within the NLD has said it would form a new political party, to be called the National Democratic Force, to run in the election in a bid to advance the movement's two-decade campaign to end military rule.
State media said 36 groups had registered as political parties under the election law, of which 31 have been approved.
Source :http://www.news24.com/World/News/Myanmar-dismisses-observers-20100512
"International watchdog groups do not need to come," the chair of the country's election body told a visiting US envoy, according to the New Light of Myanmar newspaper.
"Arrangements have been made to ensure free and fair elections," Election Commission chairperson Thein Soe was quoting as telling US Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs Kurt Campbell on Monday.
Election candidates will be allowed to appoint a representative and helper to observe polling stations and the ballots are to be counted in front of the voters, Thein Soe said. Critics say the polls are aimed at simply entrenching the ruling generals' power.
Campbell met several government ministers and opposition leaders, including detained democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi, during his two-day visit to the military-ruled country.
Military rule
He said following his talks that the US was "profoundly disappointed" in the junta's preparations for the upcoming elections and wanted "immediate steps" to address fears that they would lack legitimacy.
Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy (NLD) was forcibly dissolved last week under widely criticised laws governing the elections, which are scheduled for some time later this year.
The NLD refused to meet a deadline on May 6 to re-register as a party - a move that would have forced it to expel its own leader - and boycotted the vote.
Under election legislation unveiled in March, anyone serving a prison term is banned from being a member of a political party and parties that fail to obey the rule will be abolished.
A faction within the NLD has said it would form a new political party, to be called the National Democratic Force, to run in the election in a bid to advance the movement's two-decade campaign to end military rule.
State media said 36 groups had registered as political parties under the election law, of which 31 have been approved.
Source :http://www.news24.com/World/News/Myanmar-dismisses-observers-20100512
Comments
Post a Comment