Overview
- Polling began at 6 a.m. for the first of three phases covering 265 of 330 townships, limited to junta-held areas including Yangon, Mandalay and Naypyidaw.
- New electronic voting machines are being used without options for write-ins or spoiled ballots, and authorities have not announced counting or result dates.
- The military-aligned USDP fields the largest slate and is expected by analysts to dominate under a system that also reserves a quarter of parliamentary seats for the armed forces.
- Aung San Suu Kyi remains in detention with her NLD dissolved, and more than 200 people have been charged under laws criminalizing criticism or “disruption” of the vote.
- The UN and Western governments have denounced the polls, ASEAN declined to send observers, and state media reported a small monitoring delegation from Belarus.