MYANMAR JUNTA’S PLANNED ELECTIONS: FALLING SHORT OF DEMOCRATIC LEGITIMACY Applicable international standards: • UN Human Rights Committee, CCPR General Comment No. 25, paragraph 20: “There should be independent scrutiny of the voting and counting process and access to judicial review or other equivalent process so that electors have confidence in the security of the ballot and the counting of the votes.” • Inter-Parliamentary Union, Declaration on Criteria for Free and Fair Elections, Article 4(7): “States should take all necessary and appropriate measures to ensure the transparency of the entire electoral process including, for example, through the presence of party agents and duly accredited observers.” • Asian Electoral Stakeholder Forum II, Dili Indicators of Democratic Elections, item III(b)(5): “Representatives of political parties, candidates, and the public are permitted to reasonably observe the various aspects of election preparation and conduct of polls.” • Global Network for Securing Electoral Integrity, Principles for Democratic Election Reform Processes, principle 2: “Electoral reform processes should be transparent.” For more: • Belta, “Belarusian observers invited to monitor election campaign in Myanmar”, 7 March 2025, https://eng.belta.by/ politics/view/belarusian-observers-invited-to-monitor-electioncampaign-in-myanmar-166089-2025/ 64