Primer on Myanmar’s historic elections on Sunday

FILE - In this Friday, Oct. 30, 2015, file photo, a man casts his ballot in advance of the upcoming Nov. 8 general election at a township Election Commission Office in Mandalay, Myanmar. Myanmar will hold general elections on Sunday to choose representatives for both houses of Parliament, known as Pyidaungsu Hluttaw. (AP Photo/Hkun Lat, File) FILE - In this Friday, Oct. 30, 2015, file photo, a man casts his ballot in advance of the upcoming Nov. 8 general election at a township Election Commission Office in Mandalay, Myanmar. Myanmar will hold general elections on Sunday to choose representatives for both houses of Parliament, known as Pyidaungsu Hluttaw. (AP Photo/Hkun Lat, File)

By Associated Press November 6, 2015 3 min read

YANGON, Myanmar (AP) – Myanmar will hold general elections on Sunday to choose representatives for both houses of Parliament, known as Pyidaungsu Hluttaw. A look at what’s at stake:

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PARTIES AND CANDIDATES: A total of 6,193 candidates from 91 parties are contesting the election. The main fight, however, is between the opposition National League for Democracy party led by Aung San Suu Kyi, and the military-backed Union Solidarity and Development Party, which is currently in power.

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PARLIAMENT’S COMPOSITION: It is made up of the upper house, Pyithu Hluttaw, and the lower house, Amoytha Hluttaw. The lower house has 440 representatives, of which 330 will be elected. The remaining 110 seats, or 25 percent of the house, will be military personnel appointed by the commander-in-chief. The upper house has 224 seats, of which 168 will be elected and 56 will be similarly appointed by the military chief.