Naypyidaw, Dec. 28 -- Nearly five years after overthrowing Myanmar's elected government, the military junta on Sunday began polling in a tightly controlled national election.

The poll marks the first nationwide election organised by the junta since it seized power in February 2021, a takeover that triggered mass protests and plunged the country into a brutal civil war that continues to this day.

The military has claimed the election will pave the way for a return to democracy. However, opposition groups and human rights organisations have dismissed the vote as a move designed to legitimise continued junta rule.

The elections are happening even as Myanmar's most popular political leader, whose government was overthrown by the military i...