Human rights groups denounce new Burmese electoral laws

Conor Duffy and Liam Cochrane

Last Updated: Wed, 10 Mar 2010 18:51:00 +1100

Burmese democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi will have to be expelled from her political party under electoral rules announced by the country's ruling military government.

It's been 20 years since Burma's last elections which were won convincingly by Aung San Suu Kyi and her National League for Democracy Party.

Burma's military government has been releasing the rules for the new election which is expected later this year.

Burmese state media have reported that a new electoral law bans anyone who is serving a jail term from being a member of a political party.

The reports say parties that do not respect the laws will be abolished.

Trevor Wilson, who was Australia's Ambassador to Burma from 2000 to 2003 and is now a visiting fellow at the Australian National University, has told Radio Australia's Asia Pacific program it's unlikely that the elections will be free and fair.

And he says Ms Suu Kyi's party, the National League for Democracy, is also taking its time deciding if it will run at the election.

"They have a lot of factors to take into account, including the number of members who are still held in jail as political prisoners some of whom who are in jail for extraordinarily disproportionate periods of time compared to the alleged offence the committed."

"The NLD is naturally going to take account of that. They would like as many people as possible to campaign and support their campaign as possible, and they can't do that if their key members are in jail."

He says the election commission will oversee all aspects of the election itself.

It will be made up of individuals nominated by the government.

"They will be respected people in the community, but it is not necessarily the case that it will be an independent election commission. I think it will very much be a commission that is doing the government's bidding."

No date's been set for the vote.

Human rights groups have denounced the laws.

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