Malaysia’s foreign minister Mohamad Hasan

ASEAN has ruled out sending observers to Myanmar’s controversial election, effectively refusing to certify the poll. Malaysia’s foreign minister Mohamad Hasan confirmed the decision in parliament on Tuesday, underscoring regional unease over the military-led vote.

Myanmar has been in turmoil since the army seized power from a civilian government in 2021. The election, which began in December, has been widely criticised by the United Nations, Western governments and rights groups as a manoeuvre to entrench military rule through allied parties. The junta rejects those accusations.

Turnout has been low, with the military-backed Union Solidarity and Development Party dominating early results, securing 88% of lower house seats contested in the first phase. The second stage of voting took place earlier this month.

Minister Hasan said ASEAN had already rejected Myanmar’s request for official observers during last year’s leaders’ summit in Kuala Lumpur. “We have said that ASEAN will not send observers, and by virtue of that, we will not certify the poll,” he told lawmakers. Some individual member states, however, have chosen to send observers independently.

The decision highlights ASEAN’s struggle to balance engagement with Myanmar against mounting international pressure. More than four years after the coup, the country remains mired in conflict, with widespread displacement and ongoing clashes between the military and resistance forces.

Separately, Hasan noted that ASEAN was close to finalising a long-delayed code of conduct with China over activities in the South China Sea. Talks began in earnest only in 2017, despite a pledge made in 2002, and progress has been slow. Beijing’s sweeping claims across the strategic waterway continue to complicate fishing and energy exploration for several ASEAN members.

For now, ASEAN’s refusal to endorse Myanmar’s election sends a clear signal: the bloc is unwilling to legitimise a process many see as undermining democratic principles, even as it grapples with its own divisions and competing priorities.

-2026-01-21

It's always a huge breakthrough when ASEAN takes a moral stand and does the right thing. Every opportunity should be made to criticize the heinous and corrupt regime in Burma, and to deny them any level of legitimacy.

Well done ASEAN!