Roundup: Countdown to Myanmar's general election

Myanmar's upcoming historic election entered a seven-day countdown on Sunday.

The government, parties, election commissions at various levels and candidates are ready for the landmark Nov. 8 vote. But the polling in some areas, mainly in Shan state, is cancelled due to clashes and insecurity.

Campaign rallies, organized by the ruling and opposition parties, have intensified in the run-up to the election since Sept. 8 and are set to end on Nov. 6, two days before the election day.

Domestic advance voting, specially arranged for government officials, election candidates, local observers and media workers, has taken place since Thursday and the polling will last until Nov. 7, a day before the formal casting of votes nationwide.

Meanwhile, polling booths also opened at 44 Myanmar embassies abroad for advance votes by around 29,000 overseas Myanmar nationals.

A total of 6,040 candidates from 91 parties and 310 independent runners will contest more than 1,000 parliamentary seats in the election, with the participation of 800 female candidates or 13.2 percent of the total.

The Union Election Commission designated 1,163 constituencies for the vote at three levels of the parliament across the country - the House of Representatives (Lower House), the House of Nationalities (Upper House) and the Region or State Parliament involving ethnic representatives.

Of the 1,163 constituencies, 330 are seats of the Lower House, 168 for the Upper House, 636 for the Region or State Parliament and 29 for ethnic representatives.

Under the constitution, 25 percent of the seats are reserved at each level of the parliament for the military personnel directly nominated without election.

With 32 million eligible voters in the country, the commission is opening 46,400 domestic polling stations for the election, mostly in Yangon, Mandalay, Ayeyawaddy, Bago and Magway regions.

Of the candidates, 1,122 are fielded by the ruling Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP), while 1,124 are nominated by the largest opposition party, the National League for Democracy (NLD).

The two leading parties are followed by the National Unity Party (NUP), the National Progressive Party (NPP) and the National Democratic Force (NDF) in terms of the number of candidates.

Over 10,000 local observers from 13 domestic groups and 1,000 foreign observers from six international groups, including the European Union (EU) and 30 embassies based in Myanmar, will monitor the election.

The 100-member EU mission led by chief observer Alexander Graf Lambsdorff will issue a preliminary statement shortly after the election day and a final report with technical recommendations at a later stage.

The government has also prepared to deploy 40,000 specially-trained police nationwide to guard the polling.

The election, which is held every five years, is to choose representatives to the next term of the parliament. The new parliament will elect the president and vice president and form a new government in February next year. Endit