YANGON, Myanmar, Nov. 7 (UPI) -- Polling stations in military-controlled Myanmar were mostly idle Sunday in a national election criticized by U.S. and British officials as a sham.
The country formerly known as Burma until a military coup in1962 hasn't had an election since 1990. The New York Times reported many of country's 53 million people appeared to be either afraid to vote or immersed in a sense of futility.
The election was for the 665-member, two-chamber national parliament and 14 regional parliaments. By military law, 25 percent of the seats were reserved for military members, the newspaper said.
Pro-democracy advocate Aung San Suu Kyi, 65, who has been under house arrest for most of the time since 1990, called the election a sham and forbade her party members from running.
There were 37 parties on various ballots, although the Times said those were mostly vetted by the military government. The report said outside election monitors were barred, campaigns were restricted by exorbitant registration fees and many prominent opposition candidates were either in prison or under house arrest.
Thursday, Britain's ambassador to Myanmar, Andrew Heyn, said the election was "neither free, nor fair, nor inclusive."
U.S. President Barack Obama also criticized the procedure Sunday during his visit to India, saying the vote was "anything but free and fair."
