At the last election in 2020, the ruling party was trounced by Aung San Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy, which was dissolved after the coup and did not appear on Sunday's ballots.

Polls opened in Myanmar on Sunday kick-starting a controversial election the military junta says will return democratic rule, nearly five years after it seized power from an elected government, unleashing a brutal civil war it has yet to win.

Before the polls comes the preparation. Officials from Myanmar’s Union Election Commission are prepping polling stations around the country for the following day’s election.

The droves of young people who queued to cast ballots in past elections in Myanmar were conspicuous by their absence from Sunday's military-run poll,

Myanmar's military regime abruptly lifted the curfew in Yangon, the largest city it has maintained for nearly five years since the 2021 coup, just one day before the general election. While ostensibly demonstrating stability in public security and adopting conciliatory measures,