Polls close in first phase of Myanmar elections widely condemned as a sham

A woman has her finger inked after voting at a polling station during the first phase of Myanmar's general election in Yangon. Photograph: Lillian Suwanrumpha/AFP/Getty Images

Polls have closed in conflict-racked Myanmar, ending the first phase of an election that has been widely condemned as a sham designed to legitimise the military junta’s rule.

The military has touted the vote as a return to democracy almost five years after it seized power in a coup, ousting the country’s then de-facto leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, detaining her and sparking a spiralling civil war.