Malaysian authorities have ruled out supporting the holding of general elections by the Burmese military junta scheduled for 2023, making the country the first member of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) to reject such polls.
Malaysian Foreign Minister Saifudin Abdullah said that «it is not morally correct for the junta to talk about elections after having usurped power following an election process that was internationally observed and recognized as free and fair».
«The National League for Democracy won the past elections, but before they could start the legislature in Parliament, the junta seized power. Therefore, it is completely illogical for Malaysia and ASEAN to support the idea of holding this election,» he said, according to reports from the Bernama news agency.
Malaysia’s refusal to accept these elections comes as the junta prepares to design its own system for the elections, which have already been criticized by the junta and the National Unity Government formed by the opposition to the junta and which is recognized as the legitimate government by the majority of citizens.
The United States has recently urged the international community to reject the Burmese military regime and its «fraudulent elections».
Burma has been mired in a serious crisis since February last year and under the control of a military coup junta that decided to seize power by force after rejecting the results of the elections held in November 2020.
Since then, the military has persecuted the main leaders of the previous civilian government, among them the activist and ‘de facto ex-leader’ of the country, Aung San Suu Kyi, now imprisoned, and violently repressed the protests against her.
The Burmese NGO Association for Assistance to Political Prisoners (AAPP) estimates that almost 2,400 people have died as a result of military repression and that some 15,900 remain in detention and deprived of their rights since the February coup.
