MANDALAY, Myanmar: Voting concluded in Myanmar´s month-long election on Sunday, with the dominant pro-military party on course for landslide victory in a junta-run poll critics say will only prolong the army´s grip on power.
The Southeast Asian nation has a long history of military rule, but the generals took a back seat for a decade of civilian-led reforms.
That ended in a 2021 military coup when democratic figurehead Aung San Suu Kyi was detained, civil war broke out, and the country descended into humanitarian crisis.
The election´s third and final phase closed after voting took place in dozens of constituencies across the country, just a week shy of the coup´s five-year anniversary.
The military pledges the election will return power to the people but with Suu Kyi sidelined and her hugely popular party dissolved, democracy advocates say the ballot is stacked with military allies.
Junta chief Min Aung Hlaing -- who has not ruled out serving as president after the poll -- toured voting stations in Mandalay, wearing civilian dress. “This is the path chosen by the people,” he told reporters in response to a question from AFP. “The people from Myanmar can support whoever they want to support.”
