Prominent Regional, Int’l Figures Urge ASEAN to Reject Myanmar Junta’s Poll

A group of prominent Southeast Asian and international figures has called on the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) to use its upcoming 47th summit to unequivocally reject the Myanmar regime’s planned election and to launch a complete strategic reset toward the crisis-hit country.

The group comprises former Malaysian foreign minister Saifuddin Abdullah; former Thai foreign minister Kasit Piromya; Philippine lawmaker Leila de Lima, a former senator and justice secretary; and three former UN experts on Myanmar—Yanghee Lee, Marzuki Darusman and Chris Sidoti—who are founding members of the Special Advisory Council for Myanmar (SAC-M).

In a joint statement issued on Tuesday, they urged ASEAN to “outright reject” the junta’s planned election—which is scheduled to be held in 102 of the country’s 330 townships in a phased process starting on Dec. 28—warning that it fails to meet even the minimum benchmarks for credibility.