Member for Bendigo Lisa Chesters is no stranger to elections but she’ll get a different view of the electoral process when she heads to Myanmar next month to help oversee the Asian nation’s federal election.
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Ms Chesters will be based in the Karen state city of Pa An, acting as a electoral scrutineer with the United Nations’ observer mission.
She was one of three Australian parliamentarians invited to participate in the mission by the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs.
Ms Chesters met with members of Bendigo’s Karen community on Friday to discuss the trip.
Karen community leader Venerable Moonienda never had the opportunity to vote in an election until he arrived in Australia.
Last year’s Victorian state election was the first time he was ever able to vote.
He said he hoped the country of his birth could move towards democracy.
“It’s a good start,” he said of the elections.
“We’ll see, maybe one day, with the foreign community’s help, we will have democracy.”
He said he was grateful for the assistance provided to Myanmar by the international community.
“We’re very impressed with the other countries trying to help Burma, especially to get peace and democracy for people,” he said.
This will be Ms Chesters’ first time in the country which until 2011 was under the rule of a military junta.
“I’m really keen and hopeful that this is going to be a new chapter for Burma,” she said.
“Democracy is exciting. I always love election day, even when I’m not the candidate.”
Ms Chesters’ said Australia’s robust system of democracy made it an ideal model to export throughout the world.
“Democracy is such a delicate system and it can be easily corrupted if you don’t have the right safeguards in place. We in Australia have one of the most solid systems in place which is why we’ve been asked to help out,” she said.
Myanmar's junta ceded power to a semi-civilian government four years ago after ruling for 49 years.
The Burmese people will go to the polls November 8 when they will decide whether to keep in the ruling Union Solidarity and Development Party or hand power to Aung San Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy.