, Dec. 28 -- Myanmar has begun voting in an election that has been broadly rejected as illegitimate, with most major political parties dissolved, many senior politicians imprisoned and up to half of the country unlikely to take part because of the ongoing civil war.

The military authorities are conducting the vote in stages, almost five years after seizing power in a coup that triggered mass protests and later escalated into nationwide armed conflict.

Analysts say the junta, backed by China, is trying to secure domestic and international legitimacy and cement its grip on power as it looks for an exit from a prolonged and destructive stalemate, reports BBC.

More than 200 people have been charged under a new law for disrupting or opposin...