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 major political parties banned, numerous figures imprisoned and as much as half of the country unable to participate because of an continuing internal conflict.
A Phased Ballot Amid Conflict
The ruling junta is holding a staggered election nearly five years after it seized power in a coup, which sparked massive protests and spiralled into a devastating conflict.
Observers say the military regime, with China's support, is seeking to legitimise and entrench its power as it seeks a way out of the devastating stalemate.
"There are no conditions for the practice of the rights of free speech, assembly or peaceful assembly," UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk stated.
More than 200 people have been charged for interfering with or opposing the election under a recently enacted legislation which carries harsh penalties, including the possibility of execution.
Film director Mike Tee, performer Kyaw Win Htut and comedian Ohn Daing were among the prominent figures found guilty under the law, which was enacted in July. They were each handed a seven-year jail term after criticising a promotional video promoting the elections.
Logistical Nightmare and Coercion
Civilians are "facing pressure from all sides," Mr Türk said in a comment, pointing out that armed rebel groups have issued their own threats urging people to boycott the polls.
The army has been engaged on multiple battlefields, against both armed resistance groups who oppose the coup, as well as ethnic armed organisations which have their own forces. It lost control of large parts of the country in a string of defeats, but clawed back territory this year after relentless airstrikes enabled by 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 logistical challenge for holding an election.
A Restricted Poll
The ballot is set to take place in three phases over the next month in two hundred and seventy-four of the country's three hundred and thirty townships, with the rest deemed not secure enough. Outcomes are expected by late January.
There is unlikely to be any voting in as much as one half of the country. Even in the townships that are voting, some districts will hold elections, making it challenging to forecast a possible turnout.
A handful of parties, including the junta-supported Union Solidarity and Development Party, are fielding candidates nationwide, while another 51 parties and independent candidates will contest only at the local 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 key leaders have been imprisoned under charges broadly viewed as politically motivated, while others are in exile.
Criticism and Rejection
"By splitting the vote into stages, the junta can adjust tactics if the outcomes in the initial round do not go their way," commented Htin Kyaw Aye, a spokesman of the election-monitoring group Spring Sprouts.
Nations in the West, including the UK and the European Parliament, have rejected the vote as a sham, while neighbouring group Asean has called for negotiations to come before any election.
The Myanmar regime has dismissed criticism of the polls, maintaining that it aims to "return [the country] to a multi-party democratic system".
"The election is being held for Myanmar. It is being held for the people of Myanmar. It is not being held for the outside world," a junta spokesman told a news conference last week.
Junta chief Min Aung Hlaing warned earlier this week that those who choose not to participate are rejecting "the path to democracy".
