Myanmar President Thein Sein vowed Wednesday to ensure that closely watched by-elections next month are “transparent and acceptable”, a Cambodian official said. “The president of Myanmar has assured that he will try his best to make the election transparent and acceptable. That’s why he will invite observers,” government spokesman Khieu Kanharith told reporters in Phnom Penh following talks between Thein Sein and Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen. Myanmar has invited the United States, the United Nations and the European Union to send observers for the April 1 polls, in which Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi is standing for a seat in parliament for the first time. Thein Sein is on a regional tour that also includes Vietnam and Laos. A 2010 election in Myanmar which swept the army’s political allies to power was marred by widespread complaints of cheating and intimidation.
