Myanmar, polls open for first elections since military takeover

Yangon (Myanmar), Dec. 28 (LaPresse) – Voters in Myanmar are participating in the first phase of the country’s general elections, held under the military regime amid a civil war. Final results will not be known until the completion of two more rounds of voting in January. It is widely expected that Min Aung Hlaing, the general who led the removal of the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi in 2021, will assume the presidency. Critics argue that the elections are a façade to legitimize military control under the pretext of a civilian government. Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy party was dissolved after refusing to register under the new military rules. Other major parties are also not participating in the elections, making the Union, Solidarity and Development Party, supported by the military, the clear favorite to seize power.