ASEAN must choose between morality and complicity.
If it sends observers to a fraudulent election, it will destroy the last shred of its moral credibility.

Sebastian Strangio, Southeast Asia Editor at The Diplomat, notes that ASEAN shows every sign of accepting the coming Myanmar election.

But let’s be honest — even sending observers to a sham election that everyone knows is fraudulent would be an act of complicity, not neutrality. It would legitimize a process built on blood, repression, and fear.

Now the question is not whether the junta will hold its fake election — it’s whether ASEAN will again betray its own principles for the sake of “pragmatism.”

Some Myanmar activists are still appealing to ASEAN’s conscience. Let’s see whether ASEAN will finally listen — or whether credibility and morality will once again be sacrificed on the altar of convenience.

Excerpt:

“Clearly, any government that is formed after the election will be unrepresentative and viewed as illegitimate to a large segment of Myanmar society. ASEAN’s leaders now have to decide whether to send teams to observe an election that will clearly fall short of the bloc’s own professed standards. The reactive pragmatism with which it has responded to the Myanmar conflict since the coup of 2021 gives every indication that it will accept the election as a fait accompli, and attempt to continue its push toward peace within the junta’s new terms of engagement.”
— The Diplomat

TQ James Shwe for your post.