Myanmar will start national elections on Dec. 28 though much of the country is wracked by war

Myanmar will hold nationwide elections beginning Dec. 28, setting a date for polls that have been denounced as a sham to normalize the army’s 2021 seizure of power even as much of the country is wracked by civil war. It is unclear how voting can take place when the military government is believed to control less than half the country, with the rest held by pro-democracy resistance fighters or ethnic minority rebels. All of Myanmar’s 330 townships have been designated as constituencies for the election. The commission announced the start date Monday and said the elections will be conducted in phases. Opponents say the election will not be free or fair and plan to try to derail it.