Independent election observers who will monitor Myanmar's general election on Sunday acknowledge their ability to criticise the government is limited, but despite the curbs hold out hope the elections will go smoothly.
The European Union, the Carter Centre, the Asian Network for Free Elections (Anfrel), and the International Republican Institute have deployed election monitors nationwide ahead of the poll.
Damaso G Magbual, Anfrel's chairman, said he appreciated that Myanmar has organised the election, the first democratic poll after a decades-long pause.
"Our methodology remains the same but there are more challenges as we can't criticise the role of the military in the election. So there are more restrictions," Mr Magbual said from Yangon.
About 20 people have been deployed since Oct 12 and another 27 short-term observers including three people from Thailand would start today to observe the final week of the pre-election period and election day on Sunday, Mr Magbual said.
The observer's remarks come as a UN rights expert warned recently of turmoil in Myanmar if the elections fall short of expectations for a credible vote.
The vote is seen as the freest in decades as Myanmar moves away from military rule, but Yanghee Lee, the UN special rapporteur for Myanmar, has raised a long list of concerns.
Dozens of candidates have been disqualified, hundreds of thousands of people who had cast ballots in previous polls have been disenfranchised, freedom of assembly is being curtailed and there is widespread intimidation, said Ms Lee.
"The period after the elections -- prior to the elections for a new president and the formation of a new government -- may see instability and tension if the election outcomes are not widely accepted as credible and legitimate," Ms Lee said.
In Yangon, Anfrel's Mr Magbual says the group's observers keeping an eye on Sunday's poll have been recruited from independent civil society groups that make up its network and from other organisations in Asia, the United States and Europe.
The group's observation methodology is tailored to comply with the Declaration of Principles for International Election Observation adopted by international organisations including the United Nations Electoral Assistance Division, he said.
Anfrel says it is also guided by the principles that inspired the Bangkok Declaration on Free and Fair Elections and the Indicators on Free and Fair elections endorsed at the Asian Stakeholder Electoral Forum in Dili, Timor-Leste in March this year.
"During this crucial last week, we hope our observers find an atmosphere that is peaceful and free with inclusive elections that provide fair opportunities to all those competing," Mr Magbual said.
Anfrel hopes recent reports of violence, threats, and intimidation are isolated incidents that do not occur again, he said.
The parties and candidates taking part had agreed on a code of conduct in the hope of keeping the poll clean.
His group also hopes the media and others involved are able to speak out relatively freely and without fear of arrest or harassment.
Protecting advance voting against the type of fraud alleged at the last general election in 2010 will be an important part of Anfrel's job, it said.
The observer group also said it hoped election officials will resolve any problems of voter registration to reduce the chance of disenfranchisement, increase the election's credibility, and protect the sanctity of the ballot.
