Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what plans his Department has for monitoring the forthcoming elections in Myanmar, both in the days before and after polling day and on election day itself, to ensure internationally accepted democratic norms are upheld and human rights are respected.

Independent election monitoring is vital for free and fair elections. Covid-19 prevented largescale international observation missions like those seen in 2015. This year, the UK Embassy will run a small in country observation mission.

We are funding domestic observation to ensure that there was some level of monitoring and oversight of the polling process. We have consistently raised the importance of domestic monitoring in country with both the UEC and the Government, to ensure transparency and oversight of the process.