As voters snaked around Mandalay's golden Eain Daw Yar Pagoda to cast their ballots, a low-flying fighter jet whizzed above them, heading towards the city's south-west.
On the ground, security personnel wearing traditional clothing and dark sunglasses, kept a close eye on foreign journalists and the few voters and officials who dared to speak to them.
At night, rocket explosions echoed in the distance, and news filtered in of savage aerial attacks on nearby villages held by rebel militia — a jarring reminder of the brutal civil war still engulfing vast swathes of this country.
In Myanmar, this is what the China-backed junta calls a free and fair election.
More than 100 townships went to the polls on December 28, in the country's first election since the military overthrew the democratically elected government of Nobel Laureate Aung San Suu Kyi.
They put her in jail on accusations of election fraud and disbanded her popular National League for Democracy party.
The 2021 coup triggered mass protests and an armed insurgency that has killed at least 80,000 people, according to independent conflict monitors.
But that is not what the military wants the international community to see.
The military's face lift
Branded one of the deadliest regimes in the world and cast off as an international pariah, Myanmar's military is trying desperately to rehabilitate its image.
In August, the junta signed contracts worth millions of dollars with two US-based PR companies, DCI Group and the McKeon Group.
The move was designed to ease US sanctions and tariffs, and convince the world's most powerful democracy that normality had returned to Myanmar.
Now the military is using the election to argue that it is ready to come back into the international fold.
Almost immediately after Sunday's polls closed, the junta announced that more than 50 per cent of eligible voters had cast their ballots in the first of its three-phase election.
"Even in developed democratic nations, there are situations where voter turnout does not exceed 50 per cent," said junta spokesperson, Zaw Min Tun, adding that the turnout was a "source of pride".
Foreign journalists under strict surveillance
On the ground, the ABC witnessed a different reality from what the junta described.
It was characterised by fear, intimidation, and the menacing shadow of a state determined to cling to power under any circumstances.
After visiting multiple polling stations in Mandalay, it became clear to us that voter turnout was well short of the 70 per cent the country experienced in the 2020 and 2015 elections before the coup.
Locals said that enthusiasm was previously so great that voters arrived before dawn to wait for polling stations to open.
On December 28, only a handful of voters trickled in when centres opened at 6am.
Most of the voters who arrived refused to be interviewed, quietly telling us that they were afraid of repercussions.
Their fear was well-founded. Like other foreign journalists, the ABC was placed under strict surveillance upon arrival in Mandalay.
Armed police surveyed our passports at our hotel, and at least three men followed us throughout our stay, sometimes for 12 hours straight as we tried to speak with local officials and voters.
At one point, we asked one of our minders to stop following us, which we captured on video, only to be told that it was for our own safety.
But we managed to discreetly speak to some people via phone or in crowded locations in Yangon.
What they said was chilling.
'I'm afraid that something bad might happen'
When the ABC approached one young woman for comment about the elections, she asked: "Can I really say what I want?"
Her name has been withheld for her own safety.
"I have a younger brother at home who's within the conscription law age limit," the woman said.
"I'm afraid that something bad might happen to him if I don't vote."
She was referring to the military's conscription law, which requires all men aged 18 to 35 and women aged 18 to 27 to serve for up to two years, while specialists like doctors aged up to 45 must serve for three years.
The dormant law has been enforced since February 2024, and in that time, the junta has announced roughly 16 rounds of conscription, calling up roughly 5,000 people at a time.
Up to 80,000 young Burmese have entered the military, according to defectors and an analyst.
Residents told the ABC that unless families can pay off military officers, their loved ones are forced to join and deployed to conflict zones, often to never return.
"Recently, one of my neighbours said they don't want to vote, but they were threatened with the conscription law," said a woman living in the capital, Naypyidaw, with her children.
"They're just seeking legitimacy. After the election, they will continue doing brutal things to the people."
These predictions are already taking shape. With two rounds of voting remaining on January 11 and 25, Myanmar's main pro-military party, the Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP), has already claimed an overwhelming lead.
The party, stacked with former generals and their supporters, is widely believed to be a proxy for the junta.
"Some parents are participating in the campaign for the USDP party because of the conscription law," said the Naypyidaw resident.
"They [the military] did not say exactly what they would do, but if they don't participate in the campaign, something will happen."
She told the ABC that one of her children is eligible to vote for the first time, but her entire family is boycotting.
"The junta is seeking legitimacy with this sham election. So we will never trust the results of the election. We will not vote," she said.
