The result was a sweeping victory for the Union Solidarity and Development Party, which won nearly 80% of seats contested across the upper and lower houses.

[7] Due to the strict separation of powers in the constitution, members elected to the Pyidaungsu Hluttaw were automatically disqualified from their seats if they accepted appointment to an executive or judicial body.

[14] Senior General Than Shwe, leader of the ruling military junta, has pledged to release political prisoners in an amnesty before the election, though he has not stated when this would occur.

[27] The other laws stipulate that anyone currently serving a prison term is barred from running or voting in the elections for the upper and lower houses.

Nonetheless, some senior members have formed the National Democratic Force to contest the elections, claiming that a boycott would play into the hands of the government.

[39][40] The SPDC has not answered opposition calls to amend the 2008 constitution or state clearly how the electoral process will be managed and the terms that new political parties can organise.

During an East Asian summit in Vietnam, Foreign Minister Nyan Win confirmed Than Shwe would not be running in the election.

[45] There have been concerns from aid agencies that the upcoming election could see a growing number of refugees fleeing to Thailand and China, due to alleged government repression, poverty and low-level ethnic conflict.

A bomb attack on Myanmar New Year killed at least nine people in Yangon and injured many others, including the regional commander of the Myanma Army,[48][49] while a series of explosions were reported at a hydroelectric project being jointly built by a Chinese company in the north of the country, the latter thought to be the work of anti-government groups.

"[52] The Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman, Jiang Yu, commented on the election during Than Shwe's visit to China.

"The international community can provide constructive help [for the elections] and refrain from any negative impact on the domestic political process of Myanmar and on regional peace and stability.

The remaining 56 seats (25%) were not elected, and instead reserved for military appointees (taken from Tatmadaw personnel; officially known as "Army Representatives").

Khin Maung Swe, the leader of the opposition National Democratic Force alleged: "We took the lead at the beginning but the USDP later came up with so-called advance votes and that changed the results completely, so we lost."

[70] Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov welcomed the vote and characterised it as a "step forward in the democratisation of Burmese society.

"[60] During a speech to the Indian parliament, US President Barack Obama said of the election that "When peaceful democratic movements are suppressed – as in Burma – then the democracies of the world cannot remain silent ...

"[71] Edwin Lacierda, the spokesperson of Philippine president Benigno Aquino III, said in a press conference in Malacañang Palace that " [We] express our disappointment towards the actions done by the Burmese government towards the NLD, and also with regards to such a farce-like elections which just appeared to be a display."

It asked "How much power and reach would she still have to rally her followers barely a week after the south-east Asian nation's first general election in two decades?"

One such reason was because the NLD's boycott may have failed if it does not play the right cards in dealing with at least a semblance of an elected opposition in a "semi-legitimate" parliament.

Pending her release from jail, the political atmosphere would have changed because of a new military leadership that may not be as "cosmopolitan" and "practical" in dealing both with her and external players.

The British ambassador to Myanmar, Andrew Heyn, also said: "What they the junta do when Suu Kyi is released will send a message.

"[72] The following day clashes erupted between the Democratic Karen Buddhist Army (DKBA) and government forces in Myawaddy by the Thai border.

According to some reports, the DKBA planned the action in the towns of Myawaddy and Three Pagodas Pass to take advantage of the deployment of the military for election monitoring.