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Election seen as crucial step for Myanmar set for Nov. 8

A formal announcement will be made later in the day, the sources said, adding that a meeting on the election was underway, Xinhua news agency reported.

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The November 8 date was confirmed by Nyunt Tin, a director of the Union Election Commission (UEC), when contacted by Reuters.

Aung San Suu Kyi.

“We can not say whether we will take part right now”.

During the 2010 elections, it is believed that voter registration was manipulated in favour of the largest contending party, the Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP).

Reform has been under way since 2010 when military rule was replaced by a military-backed civilian government.

The government under President Thein Sein, a ex- general, has been credited with ending draconian media censorship, freeing political prisoners and launching economic reforms that have seen the lifting of most Western sanctions. The last time the NLD contested an election was in 1990, following mass pro-democracy demonstrations.

The popular NLD is expected to win majority in the parliament, but Suu Kyi can not become president, because a constitutional clause bars those with foreign family members from the presidency. Her sons are British.

Parties including the NLD have already complained about inaccuracies in provisional voter lists.

With Suu Kyi barred from the top job and no obvious second candidate within the NLD, observers predict the party could end up supporting a presidential candidate outside its ranks.

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The official said the date would be formally announced later on Wednesday.

A man checks the voters list at the Wahtheinkha village in Kawmhu township Yangon Myanmar