Suu Kyi refuses to vote in Burmese election

The detained Burmese pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi has decided not to vote in the upcoming elections, even though authorities have told her she is on the electoral roll, her lawyer said yesterday.

Ms Suu Kyi's lawyer, Nyan Win, said she informed him that she does not intend to vote in the 7 November general elections in which her now-disbanded party has decided not to participate.

The military government dissolved her National League for Democracy party because it declined to reregister for an election it considers unfair and undemocratic. Nyan Win told reporters about her position after meeting her for more than two hours at her home.

She has previously advised followers that they have the right not to vote. The state-controlled press has criticised that position. Ms Suu Kyi told her lawyers that the authorities informed her that she is on the electoral list.