Controversial Myanmar election in final stages, those on the verge of a one-sided victory

The third and final round of Myanmar's controversial general election has been held.

The third and final round of Myanmar's controversial general election has been held. Voting began in 60 townships including Yangon and Mandalay on Sunday (January 25) amid an ongoing civil war and tight security. Voting began at 6 am local time.

The national election has been controversial from the start. Critics say the vote was not free and fair and is aimed at legitimizing military rule. The country has been in a bloody civil war since the military seized power nearly five years ago, ousting an elected government. Thousands of people have been killed and more than 3.5 million people have been displaced.

The military-backed Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP) is leading by a wide margin in the election. According to the Election Commission, the party won 193 of the 209 seats in the lower house and 52 of the 78 seats in the upper house. Adding the 166 seats allocated to the military under the constitution would give the military a comfortable majority to form a government.

Opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi remains in detention and her party, the National League for Democracy (NLD), has been dissolved, shifting the political landscape completely in the military's favor.

The UN's special rapporteur on human rights, Tom Andrews, has called for the election to be rejected as "illegal" and "fraudulent." The ASEAN bloc has said it will not recognize the election. Official results are due later this week, but the USDP is expected to claim victory on Monday.