Conflict-ravaged Burma Goes to the Polls in Broadly Condemned 'Sham' Election.
Myanmar is going to the polls in a electoral process widely dismissed as a sham, with key opposition groups banned, many of their leaders jailed and a significant portion of the country unable to participate because of an ongoing internal conflict.
A Staggered Vote Amid War
The military government is holding a staggered election nearly five years after it took control in a coup, which ignited massive protests and escalated into a devastating conflict.
Observers say the military regime, with backing from Beijing, is attempting to validate and consolidate its power as it looks for a way out of the costly deadlock.
"The environment does not allow for the exercise of the rights of free speech, assembly or peaceful protest," the United Nations' top human rights official Volker Türk stated.
Over two hundred people have been prosecuted for interfering with or opposing the election under a recently enacted legislation which imposes severe punishments, including the possibility of execution.
Film director Mike Tee, performer Kyaw Win Htut and comedian Ohn Daing were among the well-known individuals convicted under the law, which was passed in July. They were each given a seven-year jail term after criticising a promotional video promoting the elections.
Logistical Nightmare and Pressure
Civilians are "being coerced from all sides," Mr Türk noted in a comment, pointing out that resistance forces have made warnings asking people to shun the polls.
The military has been engaged on several fronts, against both armed resistance groups who oppose the coup, as well as ethnic armed organisations which have their own militias. It ceded territory of large parts of the country in a series of major setbacks, but clawed back territory this year after relentless airstrikes made possible through support from China and Russia.
All of this and the fact that large parts of the country are still under opposition control presents a massive operational hurdle for conducting an election.
A Restricted Poll
Voting is set to take place in three phases over the coming weeks in 274 of the country's 330 townships, with the rest deemed too unstable. Results are expected by late January.
There is not expected to be any voting in up to fifty percent of the country. Even in the townships that are voting, not all constituencies will go to the polls, making it challenging to predict a possible turnout.
Six parties, including the junta-supported Union Solidarity and Development Party, are fielding candidates nationwide, while another 51 parties and non-aligned contenders will contest only at the state or regional levels.
Some 40 parties, including Aung San Suu Kyi's National League of Democracy, which scored decisive wins in 2015 and 2020, have been dissolved. Suu Kyi and many of the party's senior figures have been jailed under charges broadly viewed as politically motivated, while the rest are in hiding abroad.
Criticism and Rejection
"By splitting the vote into stages, the junta can change their approach if the results in the initial round do not go their way," noted Htin Kyaw Aye, a representative of the election-monitoring group Spring Sprouts.
Western governments, including the UK and the European Parliament, have dismissed the vote as a pretence, while neighbouring group Asean has urged political dialogue to precede any election.
The Myanmar regime has dismissed criticism of the polls, insisting that it aims to "restore a democracy with multiple parties".
"The election is being held for Myanmar. It is being held for the people of this country. It is not intended for the outside world," a military representative stated at a news conference last week.
Military leader Min Aung Hlaing cautioned earlier this week that those who refuse to vote are rejecting "progress toward democracy".
