“ASEAN does not recognize Myanmar's elections"

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations does not recognize the recently held elections in Myanmar, the first since the army seized power in 2021, the Philippine foreign secretary said Thursday.

ASEAN’s non-recognition of the elections in Myanmar, which a military-backed party claimed to have won, is a major blow to efforts by the country’s military rulers to gain international recognition.

Asked in a news conference if the bloc did not recognize the elections in Myanmar, Philippine Foreign Secretary Theresa Lazaro said, “yes, as of now” and added that ASEAN “has not endorsed the three phases of the elections that were held.”

Lazaro did not elaborate how the regional bloc’s stance could possibly change. She was speaking after hosting the ASEAN's first major ministerial meetings this year in the central city of Cebu. The Myanmar crisis was high on the agenda.

Myanmar’s military-backed Union Solidarity and Development Party claimed Monday that it had won the elections. The victory of the party led by a former general was widely expected after the vote excluded major opposition parties and dissent was tightly restricted.