Myanmar to hold first election since coup

Myanmar will hold the first phase of a general election on Sunday, its first vote in five years and an exercise that critics say will neither restore the country's fragile democracy, undone by a 2021 army takeover, nor end a civil war triggered by the nation’s military rule. The military has framed the polls as a return to multi-party democracy, likely seeking to add a facade of legitimacy to its rule, which began after the army four years ago ousted the government of Aung San Suu Kyi. Voting will be held in different parts of the country in three phases, with the second on January 11 and the third on January 25.