India, Dec. 29 -- Voters went to the polls on Sunday for the initial phase of Myanmar's first general election in five years, held under the supervision of its military Government while a civil war rages throughout much of the country. Final results will not be known until after two more rounds of voting are completed later in January. It is widely expected that Min Aung Hlaing, the general who has ruled the country with an iron hand since an army takeover in 2021, will then assume the presidency.

The military Government has presented the vote as a return to electoral democracy, but its bid for legitimacy is marred by bans on formerly popular opposition parties and reports that soldiers have used threats to force voters to participate. W...