As voting got underway in Myanmar's historic by-elections there was a slight glitch at this polling station in Yangon on Sunday. The brief failure of the lighting system did not dim the enthusiasm of voters. 　　Many see the nation's third election in half a century as a critical turning point. Its conduct is crucial to the lifting of some sanctions against the long-isolated country. As the polls opened European Union observers said the situation appeared calm. 　　Ivo Belet (European Union Observer): "We're happy to see that everything is going peacefully and we hope that the whole day can be run in a peaceful way and we'll make an evaluation later of course on the basis of all the polling stations that we will be seeing." 　　A total of 45 parliamentary seats are up for grabs. Pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi and her National League for Democracy Party are fighting for all but one of them.(Paul Chapman/ Reuters)