Asean will not certify Myanmar election or send observersListen to this articleElection Commission officials count ballots at a polling station during Myanmar's general election in Yangon, Myanmar, on Dec 28, 2025. (Photo: Reuters)KUALA ‍LUMPUR — The 11-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) 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. 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 the bloc's position on the election. Asean and China pledged ⁠in 2002 to create a code of conduct but took ​15 years to start discussions, and progress has been slow.

Source: Bangkok Post January 20, 2026 17:06 UTC