Myanmar's capital goes to the polls amid civil war and humanitarian crisis

Overshadowed by civil war and doubts about the credibility of the polls, voters in Myanmar’s capital city of Naypyitaw began casting their ballots in a general election starting on Sunday (December 28), the first since a military coup toppled the last civilian government in 2021.

Footage broadcast by Myanmar’s state-run television MRTV showed voters in Naypyitaw queuing from early morning, poll officers marking voters’ fingers with indelible ink after they cast their ballots, a measure used to prevent multiple voting.

For the first time, polling in Myanmar is being conducted using more than 50,000 electronic voting machines, which will speed up vote counting and eliminate the possibility of fraud, according to the junta-controlled election commission.

But the election has been derided by critics - including the United Nations, some Western countries and human rights groups - as an exercise that is not free, fair or credible, with anti-junta political parties not competing.

-Reuters