YANGON, Myanmar // Voters in Myanmar's first elections in 20 years cast their ballots yesterday amid criticism that the balloting was rigged in favour of the ruling military.
The junta did not disclose when the results would be announced, saying only that they could come "in time".
It was almost certain, however, that through pre-election engineering the junta-backed Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP) would emerge victorious despite widespread popular opposition to 48 years of military rule.
The streets of Yangon, Myanmar's largest city, were unusually quiet and voter turnout appeared light at many polling stations. Some residents said they were staying home as rumours circulated that bombs would explode.
About 40,000 polling stations across the South-east Asian country opened at 6am and closed 10 hours later.
The USDP fielded 1,112 candidates for a total of 1,159 seats in the two-house national parliament and 14 regional parliaments. Its closest rival, the National Unity Party backed by supporters of Myanmar's previous military ruler, had 995 candidates.
The largest opposition party, the National Democratic Force, contested just 164 spots.
Election rules were written to benefit the USDP, and hundreds of potential opposition candidates - including Nobel Peace Prize laureate Aung San Suu Kyi, whose party won a landslide victory in the last elections in 1990 but was barred from taking office - are under house arrest or in prison. Several parties have complained that voters were strong-armed into voting for the pro-junta party, with some told that they would lose their jobs if they did not.
Cho Cho Kyaw Nyein, general secretary of the Democratic Party, said there had been widespread cheating by the USDP.
"There have been reports that one person has cast votes for his whole family," he said. The USDP also threatened farmers with arrest if they did not vote for it, he said.
Whatever the results, the constitution sets aside 25 per cent of parliamentary seats for military appointees.
Voters expressed both fear and defiance. "I cannot stay home and do nothing," said Yi Yi, a 45-year-old computer technician. "I have to go out and vote against the USDP. That's how I will defy them."
* Reuters
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Toilet cleaner
1 cup baking soda
1 cup castile soap
10-20 drops of lemon essential oil (or another oil of your choice)
Method:
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Air Freshener
100ml water
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Fireball
Moscow claimed it hit the largest military fuel storage facility in Ukraine, triggering a huge fireball at the site.
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Ukraine confirmed the strike, saying the village some 40 kilometres south-west of Kyiv was targeted.
Singham Again
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If you go
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COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Qyubic
Started: October 2023
Founder: Namrata Raina
Based: Dubai
Sector: E-commerce
Current number of staff: 10
Investment stage: Pre-seed
Initial investment: Undisclosed
About Krews
Founder: Ahmed Al Qubaisi
Based: Abu Dhabi
Founded: January 2019
Number of employees: 10
Sector: Technology/Social media
Funding to date: Estimated $300,000 from Hub71 in-kind support
Kanguva
Director: Siva
Stars: Suriya, Bobby Deol, Disha Patani, Yogi Babu, Redin Kingsley
Cricket World Cup League 2
UAE squad
Rahul Chopra (captain), Aayan Afzal Khan, Ali Naseer, Aryansh Sharma, Basil Hameed, Dhruv Parashar, Junaid Siddique, Muhammad Farooq, Muhammad Jawadullah, Muhammad Waseem, Omid Rahman, Rahul Bhatia, Tanish Suri, Vishnu Sukumaran, Vriitya Aravind
Fixtures
Friday, November 1 – Oman v UAE
Sunday, November 3 – UAE v Netherlands
Thursday, November 7 – UAE v Oman
Saturday, November 9 – Netherlands v UAE
Shubh Mangal Saavdhan
Directed by: RS Prasanna
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COMPANY PROFILE
Name: HyperSpace
Started: 2020
Founders: Alexander Heller, Rama Allen and Desi Gonzalez
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: Entertainment
Number of staff: 210
Investment raised: $75 million from investors including Galaxy Interactive, Riyadh Season, Sega Ventures and Apis Venture Partners
Company%20Profile
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Pots for the Asian Qualifiers
Pot 1: Iran, Japan, South Korea, Australia, Qatar, United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, China
Pot 2: Iraq, Uzbekistan, Syria, Oman, Lebanon, Kyrgyz Republic, Vietnam, Jordan
Pot 3: Palestine, India, Bahrain, Thailand, Tajikistan, North Korea, Chinese Taipei, Philippines
Pot 4: Turkmenistan, Myanmar, Hong Kong, Yemen, Afghanistan, Maldives, Kuwait, Malaysia
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Dubai Rugby Sevens
November 30-December 2, at The Sevens, Dubai
Gulf Under 19
Pool A – Abu Dhabi Harlequins, Jumeirah College Tigers, Dubai English Speaking School 1, Gems World Academy
Pool B – British School Al Khubairat, Bahrain Colts, Jumeirah College Lions, Dubai English Speaking School 2
Pool C - Dubai College A, Dubai Sharks, Jumeirah English Speaking School, Al Yasmina
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Brett Anderson
Little Brown Book Group
Company%20profile
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COMPANY PROFILE
Founders: Alhaan Ahmed, Alyina Ahmed and Maximo Tettamanzi
Total funding: Self funded
Yuki Means Happiness
Alison Jean Lester
John Murray
