Polls to open on Sunday after 5 years of civil war

Myanmar's junta is set to preside over voting starting on Sunday, touting heavily restricted polls as a return to democracy five years after it ousted the last elected government, triggering civil war.

- 

Former civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi remains jailed and her hugely popular party dissolved after soldiers ended the nation's decade-long democratic experiment in February 2021.

International monitors have dismissed the phased month-long vote as a rebranding of martial rule, citing a ballot stacked with military allies and a stark crackdown on dissent.

The country of around 50 million is riven by civil war, and the vote will not take place in rebel-held areas.

In junta-controlled territory, the first of three rounds of voting is due from 6am on Sunday, including in constituencies in the cities of Yangon, Mandalay and the capital Nay Pyi Taw.