Asean Withholds Endorsement of Myanmar Vote Amid Internal Split
Voters at a polling station during the final phase of a general election, in Mandalay, Myanmar, on Jan. 25.
Photographer: Anthony Wallace/AFP/Getty ImagesSoutheast Asian nations stopped short of endorsing Myanmar’s post-coup elections at a meeting in the Philippines on Thursday, a decision likely, for the time being, to keep in place restrictions on the military government’s participation in the bloc that have stood since the 2021 coup.
The Association of Southeast Asian Nations does not recognize Myanmar’s ruling military junta and has not endorsed the recent phased elections held under its supervision, Philippine Foreign Affairs Secretary Theresa Lazaro said. Some Asean members, however, viewed the polls as “something that might be positive,” she added.