Voters in Myanmar headed to polling stations today to cast their ballots in the first parliamentary elections in their homeland in five years.
The vote is being held under the supervision of the ruling military and in conditions of civil war that has engulfed much of the East Asian country, agencies reported.
According to critics, the elections are aimed at giving a facade of legitimacy to the military's rule, which began after the army overthrew the democratically elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi in February 2021. Her party won the 2020 election, but she was not allowed to run for a second term as Myanmar's leader.
In Yangon, Myanmar's largest city, Naypyidaw, the capital, and elsewhere, voters cast their ballots in schools, government offices and religious buildings.
Critics say the results will be illegitimate because some of Myanmar's major political forces are barred from running, as well as restrictions on free speech and a climate of repression, the Associated Press notes.
They argue that the expected victory of the military-backed Union Solidarity and Development Party makes the nominal transition to civilian rule a pipe dream.
But holding the election could still serve as an excuse for neighbors such as China, India and Thailand to continue their support on the grounds that the vote will help increase stability in Myanmar.
Western countries are maintaining sanctions against Myanmar's ruling generals for their anti-democratic actions and their war against their political opponents, the Associated Press notes.
In Yangon, heightened security measures were already visible yesterday. There are armed guards in front of polling stations, and military trucks patrol the streets. In this vote, election authorities are faced with the task of organizing machine voting for the first time.
Although opposition organizations and armed resistance movements have vowed to disrupt the elections, they have not yet taken any significant actions to disrupt the vote.
Myanmar's former leader, 80-year-old Suu Kyi, will not participate in the race, as she is serving a 27-year prison sentence on charges that many believe are politically motivated. In 2023, her party, the National League for Democracy, was dissolved after it refused to register under new rules set by the military.
Other political forces also refused to register and participate in elections held under conditions they said were unfair. Opposition organizations called for a boycott of the vote.