Residents of Burma cast their ballots in elections for the first time in 20 years on Sunday, a vote that drew international criticism over the likelihood that it will end in victory for the unpopular ruling military junta.
Election officials would only say that results will be announced "in time." However, it is likely that the Union Solidarity Development Party, which is backed by the junta, will take the majority of seats in parliament despite a lack of widespread support.
The USDP, which enjoys the junta's financial backing and is led by a newly retired general, fielded 1,112 candidates for the 1,159 seats available in the national parliament and 14 regional parliaments.
By contrast, the largest of the anti-government parties, the National Democratic Force, fielded just 164 candidates.
As well, a number of Burmese who would be expected to run for the opposition are in prison or under house arrest, such as National League for Democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi. Her party won the last election, in 1990, but was prevented from taking office.
Whatever the results, 25 per cent of seats are reserved for candidates appointed by the junta.
Burmese voters said despite the expected result, casting their ballots is one of the only ways for them to speak out against the junta.
"I cannot stay home and do nothing," said Yi Yi, a 45-year-old computer technician in Rangoon. "I have to go out and vote against USDP. That's how I will defy them (the junta)."
The vote garnered international criticism, particularly over the fact the junta barred international observers and foreign media from covering the proceedings. British Ambassador Andrew Heyn said Sunday the election was a "huge missed opportunity" to bring democratic reforms to Burma.
Heyn told The Associated Press that "the only real surprise would be that one pro-establishment party would beat an even more pro-establishment party."
USDP's top rival, the National Unity Party, has the support of backers of the previous military ruler.
U.S. President Barack Obama condemned the elections as "neither free nor fair," during his trip to India on Sunday.
"For too long the people of Burma have been denied the right to determine their own destiny," he told students at St. Xavier College.
"Even as we do not impose any system of government on other countries, we must always speak out for those human rights that are universal and the right of people everywhere to make their own decision about how to shape their future," he said.
In a statement issued by the White House after his speech, Obama said the elections "were based on a fundamentally flawed process and demonstrated the regime's continued preference for repression and restriction over inclusion and transparency."
U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said the elections reflected "heartbreaking" repression in Burma.
While riot police were stationed at many polling centres, the vote carried on peacefully, with no reports of major violence or protests.
Pro-democracy advocates will now look ahead to Nov. 13, when officials have indicated they may release Suu Kyi from house arrest. She has been holed up in her Rangoon home since the last election.
But a conciliatory move by the junta may be marred by growing unrest among ethnic minority groups, such as the Karen, the Wa and Kachin.
As tensions rose before the vote, the junta said residents of 3,400 villages in ethnic minority areas would be unable to vote, totalling about 1.5 million people.
The Karen have been battling the government since Burma gained independence from Britain in 1948, while the Wa and Kachin had signed ceasefire agreements that now appear to be in jeopardy after the crackdown on minority voters.
With files from The Associated Press
