( CNN ) -- The Myanmar government will `` seriously consider '' accepting observers from neighboring countries to monitor elections taking place in April , a regional organization said Tuesday . In a meeting Tuesday with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations , President Thein Sein said Myanmar would consider allowing observers from the association to watch the elections . `` The two leaders agreed that such a move will boost transparency , which will add to the international goodwill that Myanmar had attracted so far , '' the association said in a statement . Thein Sein met with ASEAN 's Secretary-General Surin Pitsuwan in Naypyidaw , the capital of Myanmar . The 10-member association is comprised of Brunei , Cambodia , Indonesia , Laos , Malaysia , Myanmar , the Philippines , Singapore , Thailand and Vietnam . Its goal is to promote economic growth and regional stability . The international community has applauded recent political reforms in Myanmar , long secluded from the rest of the world after a military junta grabbed power in 1962 . The generals have begun loosening their grip after international sanctions and criticism over their regime 's human rights record . After boycotting elections in 2010 , the pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi and her party will participate in the April by-elections . Suu Kyi registered last month to run for a parliamentary seat in Kawhmu after the regime agreed to negotiate with an ethnic rebel group and pardoned hundreds of political prisoners . Her party , the National League for Democracy , is putting up candidates for all 48 parliamentary seats that are being contested . Suu Kyi and her supporters , as well as international political leaders , have urged Thein Sein 's government to ensure that the elections are carried out in a free and fair manner . Representatives from ASEAN allowed into Myanmar in 2010 did not carry out thorough monitoring of the elections that year , said Aung Saw , editor of the Myanamar exile magazine Irrawaddy , which is based in Thailand . `` They were just taken to a few polling stations , that 's it , '' he said . Western governments have made a number of gestures in recognition of Myanmar 's recent political changes -- the United States announced in January that it would exchange ambassadors with the country for the first time since 1988 . But the April by-elections are seen as a key gauge of the government 's commitment to reform . The international attention trained on the elections may prompt the Myanmar government to allow more rigorous monitoring this time around , Aung Saw said . He noted that the Thailand-based Asian Network for Free Elections , which aims to promote and support democratization , is an example of a regional body that could provide independent election monitoring . CNN 's Jethro Mullen contributed to this report .
Myanmar is due to hold by-elections in April after a series of political reforms . Pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi and her party are participating in the elections . The United States has urged all sides not to use violence or engage in any form of intimidation.