Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of whether the forthcoming elections in Burma can be free and fair, in the light of the withdrawal of temporary voting rights given to Rohingya Muslims and the fact that the military is allocated one quarter of seats.

Burma's elections in November are a milestone in its transition to democracy, and we have consistently called for democratic, inclusive, credible and transparent elections in which all the people of Burma, including persons belonging to minorities, can fully exercise their political rights and cast their vote. This was reiterated in the EU Foreign Affairs Council conclusions on 22 June. However, there are significant challenges in holding Burma’s first credible elections in decades. The withdrawal of temporary residence cards for Rohingya Muslims is a major concern. We have also long made clear that the military should step back from politics. In assessing the overall standard of the election, we will look at these and a range of other factors, including the assessments of both local and international observers on the ground at the time. The UK has supported the EU in sending an Election Observation Mission to observe the elections.