U.N. rights envoy warns that Myanmar's election will be a 'fraud'

FILE PHOTO: The United Nations headquarters building is pictured with a UN logo in the Manhattan borough of New York City, New York, U.S., March 1, 2022. REUTERS/Carlo Allegri/

GENEVA (Reuters) - The United Nations human rights expert on Myanmar said on Thursday that an election planned by the country's junta will be a "fraud" and warned other countries against offering assistance that would help legitimise it.

The junta declared a state of emergency after seizing power from the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi in a coup in February last year, and has tentatively planned for elections by August 2023.