Myanmar’s first election since the 2021 coup: everything you need to know

The ruling junta says the heavily restricted polls are a return to democracy but critics are wary

Five years after Myanmar’s junta ousted the country’s last elected government, triggering a civil war, voting is set to begin this week in national elections.

The junta claims the vote is a return to democracy, but in reality the one-sided and heavily restricted poll has been widely condemned as a sham designed to keep the generals in power through proxies.