ASEAN rejects role in Myanmar elections

KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 20, 2026 (KPT) – ASEAN will not recognise or endorse Myanmar’s general elections after the bloc unanimously rejected a request from the country’s military rulers to send observers, Malaysia’s foreign minister said Tuesday.

Foreign Minister Mohamad Hasan told parliament that ASEAN decided against deploying observers for Myanmar’s three phase polls, which began in December 2025. He said the request was made at last year’s ASEAN Summit in Kuala Lumpur but was rejected by all member states.

“Without ASEAN observers, the elections will not have political legitimacy from ASEAN,” Hasan said, adding the bloc would not confer recognition on the military government that seized power in a 2021 coup.

Myanmar’s elections have been widely criticised by the United Nations and Western governments, who say the process is designed to entrench military rule through proxy parties rather than restore democracy.

Reports from the second phase of voting in January showed low turnout, while the military backed Union Solidarity and Development Party claimed a strong lead.

Hasan noted some ASEAN members may send their own observer missions, but stressed these would not reflect ASEAN’s collective position.

The bloc has barred Myanmar’s generals from high level meetings since the coup, while pushing dialogue under its Five Point Consensus peace plan, which has seen little progress.

Separately, Hasan said ASEAN is close to finalising a long delayed Code of Conduct with China on the South China Sea, with talks expected to conclude by the end of 2026.

The agreement aims to manage disputes in the strategic waterway, where China’s expansive claims overlap with those of Malaysia, Vietnam and the Philippines.