YANGON- Myanmar will hold a general election on November 7, its first such poll in two decades, an official in the military-ruled country said Friday.

State media confirmed the date for the election, which Western countries fear is a sham aimed at shoring up the junta`s half-century grip on power.

Detained pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi -- who has spent much of the past 20 years in jail or under house arrest -- is barred from standing in the election because she is a serving prisoner.

Her party, the National League for Democracy, won a landslide victory in 1990 but the junta never allowed it to take office.

A split has emerged in the opposition between those who decided to contest the upcoming election and others, including Suu Kyi, who favoured a boycott.

BDST: 1046 HRS. August 13, 2010