Census takers guarded by police and soldiers took to the streets of Myanmar on Wednesday for a national survey that anti-junta groups have urged people to boycott. The ruling junta is pressing ahead with the census even though it has lost control of large areas of the Southeast Asian country to armed groups opposed to its rule.

A nationwide census has been launched by Myanmar’s military government, which says it will be used to compile voter lists for a general election promised for next year, even though much of the country

On Tuesday, Myanmar’s ruling junta officially launched a census aimed at creating election rolls for a promised vote next year.