Myanmar's junta has announced the country will hold its first election in two decades on November 7, a vote critics say is a sham intended to put a civilian face on military rule. Detained pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi is barred from standing in the polls because she is a serving prisoner. Her National League for Democracy (NLD) - which won a landslide victory in 1990 but was never allowed to take office - is boycotting the vote, although a splinter group is planning to participate.
So far 40 parties have been allowed to register to contest the election for seats in a two-chamber national parliament as well as regional legislatures. *AFP
