Polling stations have opened in some areas of conflict-racked Myanmar for an election that has been widely condemned as a sham designed to legitimise the navy junta’s rule.
The most well-liked social gathering is banned from working within the election, and enormous areas of the nation will probably be fully excluded as a result of they’re underneath the management of anti-junta teams or racked by fierce fighting.
In areas the place the election is happening, campaigning has been muted – missing the colourful, packed rallies that marked previous votes. The pink flags and indicators related to the nation’s hottest politician, Aung San Suu Kyi, and her social gathering, the Nationwide League for Democracy, which coated the streets in earlier elections, are additionally absent. The previous de facto chief, who’s 80, has been detained since she was ousted within the coup, and her party has been banned.
The election has been condemned by the UN and western governments, however has assist from China, which is the navy’s most necessary ally. China, Russia, India and Vietnam have despatched election observers, based on military-controlled media.
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