"More than 6,000 prisoners were released in Myanmar on Sunday as part of the country's Independence Day pardons. Footage shows demonstrators lining the streets outside Yangon's Insein Prison as buses arrived. Released prisoners can also be seen embracing their loved ones after disembarking buses. The junta announced that 6,134 men and women would be freed from prisons, detention centres, and labour camps across the country as part of the annual amnesty, marking 78 years since Myanmar's independence from British rule on January 4, 1948. Authorities also confirmed that 52 foreign nationals would be released and deported. The release coincides with Myanmar's phased, month-long election, in which the junta has promised democracy and national reconciliation. However, with major political parties dissolved, leaders jailed, and as much as half the country not expected to vote due to ongoing civil conflict, many international observers have described the vote as a 'sham.' The first phase of voting concluded last week, with the next two phases scheduled for January 11 and 25. The military government is holding the election nearly five years after seizing power in a coup, a move that has sparked widespread opposition and fuelled a civil war."