Myanmar Elections To Be Discussed At The ASEAN Meeting, Indonesia Emphasizes The Implementation Of The 5PC Effective

Ambassador Sidharto R. Suryodipuro (left) and Ambassador Abdul Kadir Jailani. (VOI/Fauzi)

JAKARTA - The effective implementation of the ASEAN Five-Point Consensus (5PC) is important from the current situation in Myanmar, with the holding of elections in the country being one of the discussions in the series of ASEAN countries that began this weekend.

The ASEAN Summit will be held on October 26-28 in Malaysia. As part of the series of summits, there will be a meeting of the Minister of Foreign Affairs of special ASEAN countries on Myanmar on October 24, said the Director General of ASEAN Cooperation at the Indonesian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Sidharto R. Suryodipuro.

"Of course, the issue of the election will be a joint discussion," he said in a press statement in Jakarta, Wednesday, October 22.

Regarding Election observer from ASEAN, Ambassador Arto said there was no information about observers from ASEAN. However, there is an invitation to many countries to attend

He further said that the fact in the field did show that the Myanmar military junta was not ready to hold simultaneous elections.

"Later we will see how the elections run. Indonesia's position, ASEAN's position so far are in accordance with the 5PC, the importance of an inclusive process," he said.

Five Consensus Points (5PC) are decisions taken by ASEAN Leaders in a meeting in Jakarta on April 24, 2021. It contains, sending humanitarian aid, stopping violence, holding inclusive dialogue, forming special envoys and special envoy visits.

The Director General of Asia, Pacific and African Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Indonesia, Ambassador Abdul Kadir Jailani, emphasized that the effective implementation of 5 PCs is the most important thing.

"The most important thing for us is the effective implementation of 5 PCs. That's important and we see it as a unit," said Ambassador Kadir.

He further explained that elections are not the only main strategic goal. The main strategic goal is the achievement of a political solution that is "Myanmar Led, Myanmar Owned".

"ASEAN's attitude or Indonesia's attitude at least, we will see in a context how it contributes to the implementation of the 5PC," he said.

It is known that Myanmar was due to hold an election on December 28. However, the leader of the Myanmar Junta Senior General Min Aung Hlaing on Wednesday last week said his country could not hold elections simultaneously.

He said the interlocutory elections would follow in several areas, following the formation of a new military government, quoted from Anadolu.

The last election was held in Myanmar in November 2020, where Aung San Suu Kyi's National Democratic League (LND) won the election.

The military accused the victory of cheating, followed by a military coup that toppled Aung San Suu Kyi on February 1, 2021.