Prime Minister John Key has expressed New Zealand's concern at the state of Myanmar's first election in two decades to that country's prime minister, General Thein Sein.
Myanmar is set to hold its first elections in 20 years next week, but Mr Key has said elections where the main opposition leader - Aung San Suu Kyi - was under house arrest failed the test for democracy.
Mr Key was sitting next to Myanmar's Gen Sein at the East Asian Summit's gala dinner last night, where the seating is arranged alphabetically by country.
Mr Key said he asked Gen Sein about the elections and was told there were 32 parties and 84 independents contesting.
"I asked him a bit about the process and how that was going to work and he gave me his version of things anyway," Mr Key said.
Gen Sein's version was unlikely to match reality, he said.
Mr Key told Gen Sein that New Zealand had some concerns and wanted to see a proper democratic election.
Mr Key told him "that we were happy to help in the process if we could".
That seemed to be a common theme in Gen Sein's conversations with other leaders, Mr Key said.
"He would offer the perspective that they are making progress, just one person's progress is not necessarily another person's.
"If there is some positive that comes out of it, it's that for the first time in 20 years there will be elections."
But New Zealand did not believe they were truly fair and free, Mr Key said.
"He (Gen Sein) was at pains to labour that they were but given that the opposition leader's under house arrest it's hard to believe that's completely the case."
Pro-democracy leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, has spent 15 of the last 21 years imprisoned or under house arrest.
Her most recent detention was due to expire on November 13, six days after the polls, but there was no word whether that would happen.
NZPA