NEW DELHI, Nov. 7 (UPI) -- U.S. President Barack Obama issued a harsh rebuke Sunday about national elections in military-controlled Myanmar he described as "fundamentally flawed."
A statement issued while Obama was touring India on the second day of a 10-day Asian tour, described the elections in the country the United States still calls Burma decried the lack of democratic transparency.
"The … elections in Burma were neither free nor fair, and failed to meet any of the internationally accepted standards associated with legitimate elections," the statement said. "The elections were based on a fundamentally flawed process and demonstrated the regime's continued preference for repression and restriction over inclusion and transparency."
The New York Times reported few voters were seen at polling stations after tightly controlled campaigning ended.
"Elections cannot be credible when the regime rejects dialogue with opponents and represses the most basic freedoms of expression, speech, and assembly," Obama said.
Obama also called for the release of some 2,100 political prisoners, including pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi, who has been under house arrest since 1990. Her party didn't enter candidates in Sunday's vote.
