Enlarge image
Refugees from Myanmar protest in Thailand for former Prime Minister Aung San Suu Kyi
Photo: Diego Azubel/EPA
Two years ago, the military staged a coup in Myanmar against the democratically elected head of government, Aung San Suu Kyi.
Now the junta wants to hold elections for the first time - but only with severe restrictions.
A new parliament is expected to be elected in Myanmar in August.
However, the generals are making it difficult for the parties in the Southeast Asian country to take part in the vote at all: a 20-page law with restrictive regulations was passed for the election, which lays down complicated rules for potential candidates.
The document, which is available to the dpa news agency, was signed by coup leader Min Aung Hlaing on Thursday.
This Wednesday marked the anniversary of the military coup in Myanmar.
The junta forcibly removed Nobel Peace Prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi from power, placed her under house arrest and then brought her to court.
In the meantime, the 77-year-old has been sentenced to more than 30 years in prison for various alleged crimes.
Former Burma has descended into chaos and violence since the overthrow.
The EU and the US have imposed sanctions on the military leadership.
Observers believe the new law will allow the junta to bar Aung San Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy (NLD) party from the elections.
"It will also be interesting to see how elections are carried out in areas where there is armed conflict," said Chit Oo, a former NLD MP.
"It's nowhere safe."
In many parts of the country, armed groups are fighting the military.
Again and again there are reports of air raids and attacks on the civilian population.
According to estimates by the prisoner aid organization AAP, more than 2,800 people have been killed and 17,000 arrested since the coup.
mrc/dpa
