Lisa Chesters (Bendigo, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

It is with great honour and pride that I stand before the parliament to share my reflections and observations from my participation in the Australian embassies election observation mission to Myanmar for their election on Sunday. I was one of three parliamentarians who not only represented this House and the Australian parliament but also were part of a broader Australian embassy team who were tasked with the mission with 1,000 other international observers to observe the process of the Myanmar election. It is probably best to start with an election day story. While it is heart-warming and exciting, it is at the same time quite heartbreaking to reflect upon what has happened in that country and the long journey that is ahead of them.

Election day in Myanmar started early. It was six o'clock in the morning when the polls opened. We arrived as part of our observation team at 5 am, before the sun was up, and the crowds were already starting to gather. The local people wore their best. They put on the best outfits that they had, in some cases their only outfits, to turn up to vote in the first election—the first truly free election—in over 25 years. As the polling officials busied themselves in getting ready, the party agents—what we would refer to as 'party scrutineers'—started to arrive. The headmistress, who was the polling manager, was ordering people about. From that first moment, you could see the influence that the Australian Electoral Commission, our own commission, had had in partnering with their Union Election Commission to ensure that the transparency measures were in place.

What role did the Australian Electoral Commission play in Myanmar's most important of days? What some people may not be aware of is that $1 million in aid funding was provided. Our Electoral Commission helped them develop the training manual for polling clerks. Some of our procedures were in place, like the security of the ballots, marking the names off the rolls, voting slips, and party agents and scrutineers having a role in the process. All of these measures were introduced for the first time to ensure genuine transparency. At six o'clock on the dot, when the polling manager in a very proud voice declared that the polls were open, there was a cheer—a cheer from the local people that the day had come. Whilst they did not celebrate as people did in a couple of the big capital cities that we saw, for many of them it was victory enough to be able to be there and to vote, to see the military on the outside and not on the inside. They greeted us so warmly and thanked us in broken English for being there and for allowing them the opportunity to have a free vote. It is true to say that it was not a truly fair vote. There is still a lot to do in the country in terms of the voting culture. There are the challenges of ensuring that there are fair elections and of tackling some of the irregularities that existed on the day, which is why the transparency measures were so important.

Other contributions that the Australian government made through AusAID included $3 million for the International Foundation for Electoral Systems to strengthen the technical capabilities and operational effectiveness of the Myanmar Union Election Commission. This funding was critical in helping them with the most basic of necessities for an election, and that is the voting roll. This is a country that has not had a voting roll for over 25 years and had to build one from scratch, and this is why we had some irregularities on election day. In the next election it will be improved again. The path forward for this country, with the remarkable results that it achieved, will be long. Australia will need to continue to partner with this country to ensure that its path towards democracy is achieved.

I would like to acknowledge the other parliamentarians who went with me: Senator Scott Ludlam and Senator Dean Smith. On the journey home, the three of us were reflecting on the proud moments that we had in being part of this election and, more importantly, on the importance of our government, our community, not thinking that this is the end of the journey for Myanmar. We will continue to partner with them going forward.