In brief
Polls have closed in Myanmar after the final round of voting in what many are calling fraudulent elections. With significant parts of the country unable to vote due to civil war, and key opposition parties banned, the ruling military junta is expected to claim a landslide victory. Critics describe the elections as a facade, and there are concerns about the implications for democracy and governance in Myanmar moving forward.
Polls in Myanmar have closed after a third and final stage of voting in what are widely viewed as sham elections.
Many popular parties are banned from standing and voting has not been possible in large areas of the country because of a five-year-long civil war.
The dominant party backed by the ruling military junta is expected to win a landslide victory.
The current regime has rejected international criticism of the election, maintaining that it is free and fair.
Around one-fifth of the country's 330 townships, including the cities of Yangon and Mandalay, voted in the last stage. Six parties, including the military-backed Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP), fielded candidates nationwide, while another 51 parties and independent candidates decided to contest state and regional levels.
As in previous rounds of this strange, month-long election, voting was orderly and peaceful at the polling stations visited by our team.
However, the polling day was preceded by a campaigning period marked by fear, intimidation, and a pervasive sense that little will change after the inevitable victory by the USDP.
The military junta took control of Myanmar in a 2021 coup, ousting an elected civilian government led by Nobel Peace Prize Winner Aung San Suu Kyi. She remains in detention as the military continues to battle armed resistance groups across the country.
