Conflict-ravaged Myanmar Goes to the Polls in Widely Criticised 'Sham' Election.
Myanmar is going to the polls in a vote widely dismissed as a farce, with major political parties banned, numerous figures imprisoned and a significant portion of the country unable to participate because of an continuing civil war.
A Staggered Vote Amid Conflict
The ruling junta is conducting a phased ballot nearly half a decade after it took control in a takeover, which ignited widespread opposition and escalated into a devastating conflict.
Observers say the junta, with China's support, is attempting to validate and consolidate its power as it seeks a way out of the costly deadlock.
"The environment does not allow for the exercise of the freedoms of free speech, association or peaceful protest," the United Nations' top human rights official Volker Türk stated.
More than 200 people have been charged for interfering with or criticising the election under a recently enacted legislation which imposes harsh penalties, including the death penalty.
Film director Mike Tee, actor Kyaw Win Htut and comedian Ohn Daing were among the prominent figures convicted under the law, which was passed in July. They were each given a prison sentence of seven years after criticising a promotional video promoting the elections.
Immense Challenges and Coercion
Civilians are "being coerced from all sides," Mr Türk noted in a comment, pointing out that armed rebel groups have made warnings asking people to boycott the polls.
The army has been engaged on multiple battlefields, against both pro-democracy fighters who reject 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 regained territory this year after relentless airstrikes made possible through support from Beijing and Moscow.
All of this and the fact that large parts of the country are still under opposition control presents a massive logistical challenge for conducting an election.
A Limited Vote
The ballot is set to take place in three rounds over the coming weeks in two hundred and seventy-four of the country's three hundred and thirty townships, with the rest deemed not secure enough. Results are expected by late January.
There is not expected to be any voting in as much as one half of the country. Even in the townships that are voting, some districts will go to the polls, making it challenging to forecast a likely 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 compete only at the local levels.
Approximately forty groups, including Aung San Suu Kyi's National League of Democracy, which scored decisive wins in 2015 and 2020, have been banned. Suu Kyi and many of the party's senior figures have been jailed under charges widely condemned as politically motivated, while the rest are in exile.
International Condemnation
"Through dividing the vote into phases, the junta can adjust tactics if the outcomes 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 sham, while neighbouring group Asean has urged political dialogue to precede any election.
The Burmese junta has rejected condemnation of the polls, maintaining that it aims to "return [the country] to a democracy with multiple parties".
"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 military representative stated at a briefing last week.
Military leader Min Aung Hlaing cautioned earlier this week that those who choose not to participate are turning their back on "the path to democracy".