Myanmar Junta Holds "Sham" Election Amid Civil War

Voters in Myanmar cast ballots on Sunday in the second phase of a military-run election. The polls are widely criticized as an attempt to make junta rule permanent. The United Nations, many Western countries, and human rights groups call the vote neither free nor fair. They say there is no meaningful opposition. Myanmar has been in civil war since the military seized power in a 2021 coup. Soldiers detained the elected leader, Nobel prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi. The conflict has ravaged the impoverished country of 51 million people. The first round of voting saw low turnout.