Scholars doubt Myanmar will see free, fair polls

EXPERTS are sceptical about the possibility of free and fair elections in Myanmar this year after the country's military ruler announced the new elections law that prohibits political prisoners from participating.

Talking to The Brunei Times, Yulius Purwadi Hermawan, an international relations expert from Universitas Parahyangan in Indonesia, said yesterday that democracy will not be restored through the national polls.

"I'm not certain that the elections will be conducted fair and free," Purwadi said.

"It seems that it is still designed to (keep) the military junta in power," he added.

He said the international community should take initiative to conduct dialogues with the Myanmar government about free elections.

"I think the US should push such dialogue. Though the chance is small, there is hope," he said.

Member states of Asean can also play a role in discussions with Myanmar to pursue fair and free polls.

"Asean must be audacious to hold discussions with military leaders in the country," he said, adding that at least the Philippines, Indonesia and Thailand should initiate such discussions.

The Myanmar regime said on Wednesday in a law published for the first time in state newspapers that anyone serving a prison term cannot be a member of a political party.

The law in effect bans detained Aung San Suu Kyi, the head of the opposition's National League for Democracy (NLD), from participating in the polls and leading the party.

Despite all these measures by the regime, Purwadi suggested that the opposition party should register for its participation in the polls. "It's certainly a struggle," he added.

Bridget Welsh, an expert on Southeast Asia at the Singapore Management University, said that the election is not seen as a free and fair process from the beginning.

Asked whether the new elections law goes against the roadmap to democracy, she said," The process has always been one about process rather than genuine democracy. The military has set a roadmap for their continued power and this is in line with that," Welsh said.

Suu Kyi's party is divided over the issue of its participation in the polls as this may give the process legitimacy, she said.

"At this juncture, it is likely that many NLD sympathetic supporters will participate in some form, but it is too early to say if the party will do this nationally," she said.

"The law is only one element of a free and fair elections and unfortunately the law does not fully pass the test."

Suu Kyi, who is among the more than 2,100 political prisoners around the country, has been jailed. The Brunei Times