And there are whole swaths of the country where voting will not take place, as the junta continues to battle a patchwork of ethnic rebels and pro-democracy fighters in the hilly borderlands and arid central plains.
A year ago, those groups inflicted a series of defeats on the military – with many opponents briefly dreaming the generals might be toppled, ending their decades-long dominance of the country’s politics and economy.
But this year junta troops – reinforced by tens of thousands of men drafted under a new conscription law and backed by new Chinese weaponry – have clawed back territory.
That, analysts say, has provided an opening for the junta to hold the vote, with generals hoping a new parliament, in which a quarter of seats will be reserved for the military, will convince some in the international community to re-engage with Myanmar after years in a post-coup wilderness.
