Polls Open in Second Phase of Myanmar Junta-run Election

KAWHMU, Myanmar—Myanmar’s junta opened polls in the second phase of elections on Sunday, AFP journalists saw, continuing a vote democracy watchdogs say is letting the military prolong its rule in a civilian guise.

The armed forces have ruled Myanmar for most of its post-independence history, before a decade-long democratic thaw saw civilians take the reins in a burst of reform.

But the military snatched back power in a 2021 coup, voiding the results of the previous election, detaining democratic figurehead Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and plunging Myanmar into civil war.