Myanmar junta stages election after five years of civil war

YANGON: Myanmar's junta is set to preside over voting starting Sunday (Dec 28), touting heavily restricted polls as a return to democracy five years after it ousted the last elected government, triggering civil war.

Former civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi remains jailed and her hugely popular party dissolved after soldiers ended the nation's decade-long democratic experiment in February 2021.

International monitors have dismissed the phased month-long vote as a rebranding of martial rule, citing a ballot stacked with military allies and a stark crackdown on dissent.

The country of around 50 million is riven by civil war, and the vote will not take place in rebel-held areas.