Burmese refugee So Aung, 48, thought he would be getting his first taste of democracy as he waited eagerly for an invitation letter from the Myanmar Embassy to arrive - which would allow him to vote on his country's new constitution.
But as the clock ticks closer to
the May 10 ballot in Myanmar, Mr Aung, like hundreds of Burmese nationals in New Zealand, has given up hope.
"I know the hope is small, but I prayed that my Government will change and really mean what they say about becoming more democratic, but I don't think anything will change," he said.
On Sunday, about 100 members of Auckland's Burmese community gathered at the Ratanadipa Buddhist Temple in New Lynn to discuss the voting - Myanmar's first in 18 years - which its military leaders say will pave the way for democratic elections in 2010.
However, to vote on the constitution, one needed to have an embassy letter of invitation to vote - and the closest voting centre to New Zealand is Canberra.
And like Mr Aung, many who were at the meeting did not have the letter.
"I think only one woman in the group said she had the letter, so I don't know what kind of democracy this is," said Rev Sobhita, a monk at the temple. "We talked about it, prayed about it, but I don't think any of those who were at the meeting believed it would benefit the people," he said.
Naing Ko Ko, a spokesman for Burma Campaign New Zealand, an activist group opposed to the ruling junta, said: "The constitution will only give more power to the military junta."
Mr Naing, who came to New Zealand as a political refugee, said the implementation of the system of "no letter, no vote" was just an attempt by the Myanmar authorities to deny eligible voters from voting against the constitution.
