Burma's ruling regime will appoint the body that oversees a planned election, state media said on Tuesday (March 9), sparking anger from rights groups.
No date has been set for the election, the first since 1990, but it is expected to be held later this year.
A two-page supplement in Tuesday's edition of the New Light of Myanmar - the regime's mouthpiece - signed by Senior General Than Shwe, specified that the regime would pick the Election Commissioners.
The clause drew fire from critics who say the election is unlikely to be free and fair. They also said the polls would be held under a Constitution designed to legitimise the military's rule behind a window dressing of democracy.
The law states that the commission will consist of at least five members, all respected figures over 50 years old, and approved by the State Peace and Development Council (SPDC), the official name of the military government.
The commissioners cannot be paid staff of any other organisation or members of a political party, and will have the final say on lists of voters and all other electoral matters.
They can also decide whether the election can be held in places affected by "natural catastrophe or for security reasons".
The India-based news agency Mizzima in a report on Monday quoted sources in Burma as saying the regime may not conduct polling in some areas controlled by armed ethnic organisations.
Initial reactions from analysts outside Burma were mixed.
Bangkok-based activist Debbie Stothard, coordinator of advocacy group Alternative Asean Network on Burma, said: "This law fits in very well with the expected scenario - an election by the regime for the regime. The military will try and foresee all loopholes and cover them in any way possible."
Chiang Mai-based Burma analyst Aung Naing Oo acknowledged: "This is a military process so we can't expect much." But he added that the election would be an important first step for the people.
Many young people in Burma have never had the experience of voting.
"You also can't prejudge whether the election will be free and fair," he said. "In 1990, there were many problems similar to today, but on the day it turned out to be free and fair."
That year, the National League for Democracy (NLD) won by a landslide but the military never allowed the party to take office and has kept its leader, pro-democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi, in detention for most of the time since then.
The NLD has said it will decide whether to contest the election once all the rules are clear. More election-related laws are due to be published this week.
Burma's Constitution - passed in a controversial national referendum in 2008 - contains clauses that rule out Suu Kyi's participation in the election on the grounds that she is married to a British citizen. It also reserves a quarter of all parliamentary seats for members of the military.
More than 2,000 opposition political figures remain in jail. The international community has called for their release - and the release of Suu Kyi - saying without that, the elections cannot be regarded as free and fair.
Ageing Gen Than Shwe, still firmly in control, considers the transition to his version of a "discipline flourishing democracy" part of his legacy.
In the absence of any real change under the military, many analysts reluctantly accept that the election, which will produce a Parliament and state-level assemblies, signals some movement.
The general is expected to give his customary speech at a military parade on March 27 - an event that will be watched closely for more announcements or signals on the election.
