Burma voted in its first election in 20 years today under tight security, a scripted vote that assures army-backed parties an easy win but brings a hint of parliamentary politics to one of Asia's most oppressed states.
The carefully choreographed end of half a century of direct army rule is largely a race between two military-backed parties running virtually unopposed, due to complex election rules that stifled any prospect of pro-democracy parties causing an upset.
The vote will not bring an end to Western sanctions but could reduce Burma's isolation in Asia at a time when neighbouring China has dramatically increased investments in natural gas and other resources in the former British colony.
"There are elections that are being held right now in Burma that will be anything but free and fair, based on every report that we are seeing," President Barack Obama told students in the Indian financial capital of Mumbai.
"For too long the people of Burma have been denied the right to determine their own destiny."
Armed riot police stood guard at polling booths or patrolled streets in military trucks in the commercial hub, Rangoon, part of a clampdown that includes bans on foreign media and outside election monitors, and a tightening in state censorship.
The Internet was barely functioning, hit by repeated failures widely believed to have been orchestrated by the junta to control information. Power failures also hampered early turnout.
It is the first election since 1990, when Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy beat the army-backed party in a landslide. The junta simply ignored that result.
Ms Suu Kyi, detained for 15 of the past 21 years, urged a boycott of this poll, saying she "would not dream" of taking part. She could take the spotlight this week, however, ahead of the expiry of her house arrest on Saturday, November 13th.
Her release could energise pro-democracy forces and put pressure on the West to roll back sanctions.
The junta's political juggernaut, the Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP), which is closely aligned with reclusive leader Than Shwe, is top-heavy with recently retired generals and is fielding 27 ministers. It is contesting all the estimated 1,158 seats. Its only real rival, the National Unity Party (NUP), also backed by the army, is running in 980 seats.
While the NUP and USDP are both conservative and authoritarian, they may pursue opposing social and economic policies in parliament, ultimately fostering greater democratic debate in a country where an estimated 2,100 political activists and opposition politicians are behind bars, diplomats said.
From rural Burma to urban centres, however, apathy was pervasive. In Rangoon, many people said they planned to spend time at pagodas with families instead of voting. In Haka, capital of Chin state bordering India and Bangladesh, more people attended church than cast ballots, witnesses said.
But the National Democratic Force, the largest pro-democracy party, predicted overall turnout of 60 percent, a figure that looked high given sparsely attended ballot stations.