Myanmar votes across cyclone zone

Many people were afraid to talk about the referendum, fearing retribution from the military and its omnipresent informants.

"I will tick Yes," said 30-year-old shop assistant Khin Min. "I am afraid I will be put in jail if I vote No."

Kyaw Kyaw, 20, was only a toddler the last time Myanmar held a national election, in 1990, when democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi led her National League for Democracy to a landslide victory.

The party was never allowed to govern, and she has been under house arrest for most of the years since.

But Kyaw Kyaw said she was more concerned with continuing her university studies than with voting.

"I also cast a Yes vote, like others did. But I'm not very interested in it. I have to take care of my education," Kyaw Kyaw said.

Aung San Suu Kyi has not been allowed to speak about the referendum, but her party has opposed it and urged the military to focus its resources on cyclone relief instead.

But Aung San Suu Kyi was allowed to vote. A Myanmar official told AFP that authorities brought her an advance ballot on Friday morning.