Many parties were banned and there was no voting in about half the country which is gripped by fear and civil war.

Polls in Myanmar have closed after a third and final stage of voting in what are widely viewed as sham elections.

Many popular parties are banned from standing and voting has not been possible in large areas of the country because of a five-year-long civil war.

The dominant party backed by the ruling military junta is expected to win a landslide victory.

The military has been fighting against both armed resistance groups which oppose the coup and ethnic armies that have their own militias.

It lost control of large parts of the country in a series of major setbacks, but clawed back territory this year enabled by support from China and Russia.

The civil war has killed thousands of people, displaced millions more, destroyed the economy and left a humanitarian vacuum.