WASHINGTON (AFP) – The United States Thursday called on Myanmar’s military junta to put in place conditions for “inclusive and transparent” voting ahead of a constitutional referendum set for May.

“A credible political transition in Burma must be inclusive and transparent. It must involve universal suffrage, secrecy and security of the ballot, and freedom of speech and association, among other internationally accepted standards,” State Department spokesman Tom Casey said in a statement.

To be credible, Casey said, balloting “must be evaluated through comprehensive, long-term monitoring by independent domestic and international observers.”

Myanmar’s ruling junta earlier this month made a surprise announcement that it would bring its proposed constitution before the public for approval in May, setting the stage for elections in 2010.

If held, the elections would be the first since 1990, when Aung San Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy (NLD) won a landslide victory that was ignored by the junta.

Pro-democracy activists in Myanmar however have said that the regime was trying to use the referendum to abolish the 1990 election results and legalize its dictatorship in the country formerly known as Burma, which they warned could erupt in a new wave of violence.

Others see the planned balloting as an effort to stem international pressure over a brutal government crackdown on protests held throughout the country in September.

The State Department echoed some of those concerns Thursday.

“The path to national reconciliation in Burma lies in the release of all detainees and political prisoners, including (jailed democracy activist) Aung San Suu Kyi, and the establishment of a genuine dialogue between the regime leadership and Burma’s democratic and ethnic minorities leading to a transition to democracy.”

Those reforms have been urged not only by Myanmar’s citizens, Casey said, but also by the UN Security Council, which issued a call for reform in an October 2007 statement.