U Nyi Nyi Kyaw smokes a cigarette on the second floor of his house-cum-teashop in Mandalay.

The former student activist, who took part in the 1988 uprising, relies on reading glasses to check his smartphone, but age has not changed his renegade status. As director of a regional election observation group, he continues to defy the authorities – in this case, the Union Election Commission, by refusing to register to monitor the November 8 election.

U Nyi Nyi Kyaw takes issue with the high fee charged for registering a local non-government organisation, which he says is set at K500,000. It’s easier and cheaper to not register at all.

“I do not agree with the point of getting permission from the UEC,” he says.

U Nyi Nyi Kyaw’s Election Observation Network (EON) is, as far as he knows, the only regional monitoring group in Mandalay.

It also has more experience than most. While the election commission did not allow monitors for the 2010 and 2012 elections, U Nyi Nyi Kyaw carried out observation activities anyway, alongside several other 88 Generation members.

“The head and staffs of the polling station didn’t know who we were, and I told them were observers,” he said. “They didn’t dare prevent us. So what I want to say is, we didn’t have official observation accreditation in the past, but we made it by our own way.”

Jump below for major monitoring groups breakdown

His group does not have a set number of long-term observers, but he estimates there are approximately five in each of Mandalay Region’s 28 townships. The network also plans to deploy up to 30 short-term observers on election day.

It is doing so without external funding. U Nyi Nyi Kyaw said EON has not accepted support because it wanted to maintain its
independence.

“If we take any budget assistance, we won’t have the chance to be a free voice for politics,” he said.

Typically, both foreign and domestic election observation missions would release reports of their findings. In the lead-up to this year’s election, local group the People’s Alliance for Credible Elections (PACE) and the US–based Carter Center have released several reports touching on the display of voter lists, the candidate scrutiny process and election security.

But U Nyi Nyi Kyaw’s group is concerned less with election day itself than the broader political process. He said it is planning to observe the “long-term” political process, including not only the pre- and post-election periods but also the activities of the parliament that is subsequently formed.

One activity will be to examine whether MPs keep promises made on the campaign trail.

”We want to share the findings with the Myanmar people and media, and then to the UEC. We also want to share our findings with other election observer groups,” he said.

Asked why he did not stand for election, U Nyi Nyi Kyaw smiles wryly and leans forward.

“Our highest mission is not a seat; we prefer the outside politics. Hluttaw duty is legislation, making budgets. But in the real world, there are a lot of conflicts – people are helpless,” he said. “CSOs help [address] the entire problem.”

Election observation: the major players in Myanmar’s vote

European Union

• Long-term observers: 30, working in teams of two, arrived October 7
• Short-term observers: 62, plus seven European parliamentarians, deploy November 2 to 13
• Core team: Nine members, arrived September 26
• Producing: Will release preliminary statement on November 10, plus final report, including recommendations for improvements for future elections, some months later
• Number of elections monitored to date: Since 2000, more than 120 missions deployed involving more than 11,000 observers

Carter Center

• Long-term observers: Six, working in teams of two, deployed November 2014
• Short-term observers: 30, deploy early November. Multinational teams of two
• Core team: Four members, arrived at various times, all at least six months ahead of election. Includes electoral legal analyst, observer coordinator, security manager and field office director
• Producing: Already released three reports, planning at least one more statement before the election. Will release preliminary statement on November 10, final report, including recommendations for improvements for future elections, some months later
• Number of elections monitored to date: since 1989, more than 100 in 38 countries

Asian Network for Free Elections

• Long-term observers: 20, working in teams of two, deployed October 12
• Short-term observers: 28, deploy early November. Multinational teams of two
• Core team: 11 members, including six Myanmar staff, three election experts and two analysts
• Number of elections monitored to date: since 1997, 46 elections in 16 different Asian countries

People’s Alliance for Credible Elections

• Long-term observers: 130, deployed in late August
• Short-term observers: aiming for 2000, to be deployed in early November
• Core team: 12 staff members in Yangon office, plus 17 state/region coordinators
• Producing: released two reports, will release preliminary report November 10 and full report some months later
• Number of elections monitored to date: None