Overview
- Polling ended for the opening round of the three-stage vote, with reporters noting thin lines in Yangon and other urban centers as authorities pressed residents to participate.
- Local outlets reported explosions near polling sites in at least three cities, while officials said large-scale violence did not materialize on day one.
- Voting is confined to junta-controlled constituencies, with reports that only about 274 of 330 areas can hold ballots and some seats face no competition as resistance groups control wide swaths of territory.
- The military-backed USDP is widely expected to dominate under rules that sidelined the NLD and other key rivals, while the constitution reserves 110 parliamentary seats for military appointees.
- China and Russia back the process, including reported technical assistance from Beijing, as UN officials and rights groups condemn the exercise as a sham and warn electronic processing could enable manipulation.