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Myanmar schedules first election in two decades
The Myanmar election announced Friday, the first in two decades, will do little to foster democracy or challenge the grip of the secretive military regime, analysts said. But the Nov. 7 vote probably will provide what the government wants: the patina of legitimacy that its allies seek in maintaining relations.
Myanmar's military leadership, headed by Senior Gen. Than Shwe, doesn't expect the highly restricted parliamentary election to win many points with the United States and European Union, which have dismissed it in advance as little more than window dressing.
But the powers upon which Myanmar depends–China and India, which covet its rich natural resources–and members of the Assn. of Southeast Asian Nations, or ASEAN, have welcomed the election, even as they defend their ties with the regime.
The brief announcement on state television ended months of speculation on the timing on the vote in Myanmar, also known as Burma.