VOTING: There are more than 29 million eligible voters and 40,000 polling stations. Some 3,071 candidates from 37 political parties,along with 82 independent candidates,will contest for 1,159 seats: 494 in the two-chamber Union Parliament and 665 spread among 14 regional parliaments. PARTIES: Two parties dominate the field,the junta-backed Union Solidarity and Development Party,and the National Unity Party,an outgrowth of the political machine of late strongman Gen Ne Win. With 1,112 candidates,the USDP is almost certain to win most seats. NUP is running 995 candidates. The third biggest party,the National Democratic Force,formed by breakaway members of Aung San Suu Kyis National League for Democracy,will field just 164 candidates. Suu Kyis NLD was disbanded after it declined to run. ISSUES: The election is referendum on the juntas democratisation plans. However,debate of the issues is restricted by law and intimidation. Junta cancelled voting in 3,400 villages in ethnic minority areas. Ethnic minority groups,like the Karen,have been fighting the government since independence in 1948. Others,including the powerful Wa and Kachin,had forged cease-fire agreements that now appear in jeopardy amid fears that the Constitution activated by polls would quash hopes for a federal system. PROBLEMS: Critics claim the polls are unfair and undemocratic. Many of the countrys most dynamic opposition politicians,including Suu Kyi,are in detention. Requirements for candidates to pay a hefty deposits of $500,restrictive rules on campaigning,and a tightly controlled media,posed serious difficulties for challengers to junta.
