DST News: Voters trickled to polling stations across Myanmar on Sunday as the ruling military pressed ahead with heavily restricted elections, portraying them as a return to democracy five years after seizing power in a coup that plunged the country into civil war.

Former leader Aung San Suu Kyi remains jailed, while her National League for Democracy has been dissolved and is not contesting the vote. Western governments, rights groups and the UN have condemned the month-long, phased polls, saying they are stacked in favour of military allies and held amid widespread repression.

Junta chief Min Aung Hlaing, who cast his ballot in Naypyidaw, insisted the election would be “free and fair”. However, voting is not taking place in large areas controlled by anti-junta forces, and turnout appeared thin in major cities, including Yangon.

The military-backed Union Solidarity and Development Party is expected to emerge as the largest bloc. Critics say the vote amounts to a rebranding of military rule rather than a genuine democratic process.

The UN human rights chief said the elections were being held in an environment of violence and repression. Further rounds of voting are scheduled in January, though authorities admit polls cannot be held in nearly one-fifth of constituencies.