Political parties in Myanmar kicked off their election campaigns, Tuesday, two months ahead of a scheduled poll, widely seen as a means to legitimize the 2021 military takeover that swept the elected government from power and plunged the country into civil war.

It comes just a day after U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres, in a meeting in Malaysia with ASEAN leaders, warned that the planned poll could deepen the crisis and cause further instability.

Fifty-seven parties have registered for the December contest but Aung San Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy, which won the last two elections by landslides, is not among them.

It was one of dozens of parties ordered disbanded, more than two years ago, after it refused to take part in what it saw as a sham.

On Tuesday, the military-backed Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP) held ceremonies in the capital Naypyitaw and Yangon, the country’s largest city, to unveil its campaign slogan “Strong Myanmar.”

The campaign in Naypyitaw, attended by hundreds of green-clad supporters, was led by the party's senior figures, including former generals now serving in the cabinet of the military government.

Khin Yi, the chairman of the USDP said in his speech that the campaign would follow the laws and instructions, adding that the poll’s results would confer legitimacy.

Other parties have not yet staged campaign events on the ground but are instead focusing their outreach on social media platforms especially Facebook.

The country’s military leader, Senior General Min Aung Hlaing, has said that six parties will compete nationwide.

He said that, due to fighting, the polls cannot be held in all total 330 townships. It would be held in 102 in the first phase and 100 in the second.

In the absence of the NLD, or any other credible, nationwide opposition parties, the USDP is widely expected to win.

The military seized power in February 2021, claiming the NLD’s victory in the November 2020 poll was down to widespread voter fraud.

They have failed to present convincing evidence to back the allegation.

The takeover sparked a national uprising with fierce fighting in many parts of the country.

The military government lately has stepped up activity ahead of the election, both on the ground and with airstrikes, to retake areas controlled by opposition forces, and airstrikes killing scores of civilians have been increasing.