U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has called for credible elections and a democratic transition in Myanmar days after the top U.N. human rights envoy to the Asian country said domestic conditions still do not satisfy international standards for fair and democratic polls. Ban, according to the U.N. News Service, told Asian leaders who attended the Association of Southeast Asian Nations summit in Vietnam that they have an important stake in seeing their neighbor country turn its upcoming pools into “an opportunity for peace, democracy and prosperity.” Myanmar’s national elections are slated for Nov. 7.
Meanwhile, U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay issued a statement seeking the unconditional and immediate release of the more than 2,000 political prisoners in Myanmar.
