🔗 Share this article Conflict-ravaged Burma Votes in Broadly Condemned 'Sham' Election. The country's junta is holding a phased vote over the next month. Myanmar is going to the polls in a electoral process widely dismissed as a farce, with key opposition groups dissolved, numerous figures jailed and as much as half of the country unable to participate because of an ongoing civil war. A Phased Ballot Amid War The military government is conducting a staggered election nearly half a decade after it took control in a coup, which ignited widespread opposition and escalated into a devastating conflict. Analysts note the junta, with backing from Beijing, is attempting to validate and entrench its power as it looks for a way out of the costly deadlock. "There are no conditions for the practice of the freedoms of freedom of expression, association or peaceful assembly," UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk said. More than 200 people have been prosecuted for disrupting or opposing the polls under a recently enacted legislation which carries harsh penalties, including the death penalty. Director Mike Tee, actor Kyaw Win Htut and comedian Ohn Daing were among the well-known individuals found guilty under the law, which was enacted in July. They were each given a seven-year jail term after criticising a promotional video endorsing the elections. Immense Challenges and Pressure Civilians are "facing pressure from all sides," Mr Türk said in a statement, pointing out that resistance forces have issued their own threats asking people to boycott the polls. The army has been fighting on several fronts, against both pro-democracy fighters who reject the coup, as well as ethnic armies 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 Beijing and Moscow. All of this and the fact that significant regions of the country are still under rebel administration presents a massive logistical challenge for conducting an election. A Limited Vote The ballot is set to take place in three phases over the coming weeks in 274 of the country's three hundred and thirty townships, with the rest deemed too unstable. Results 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, not all constituencies will hold elections, making it challenging to predict a possible turnout. A handful of parties, including the military-backed Union Solidarity and Development Party, are running nominees nationwide, while another 51 parties and independent candidates will compete only at the local levels. Some 40 parties, including Aung San Suu Kyi's National League of Democracy, which achieved landslide victories in 2015 and 2020, have been dissolved. Suu Kyi and many of the party's senior figures have been jailed under charges widely condemned as politically motivated, while others are in exile. International Condemnation "Through dividing the vote into phases, the authorities can change their approach if the outcomes in the first phase do not go their way," noted Htin Kyaw Aye, a representative of the watchdog group Spring Sprouts. Nations in the West, including the United Kingdom and the European Parliament, have dismissed the vote as a pretence, while neighbouring group Asean has called for negotiations to come before any election. The Myanmar regime has rejected criticism of the polls, insisting that it aims to "restore a multi-party democratic system". "This vote is being held for Myanmar. It is being held for the citizens of this country. It is not being held for the international community," a military representative stated at a news conference last week. Military leader Min Aung Hlaing cautioned earlier this week that those who choose not to participate are turning their back on "progress toward democracy".
The country's junta is holding a phased vote over the next month. Myanmar is going to the polls in a electoral process widely dismissed as a farce, with key opposition groups dissolved, numerous figures jailed and as much as half of the country unable to participate because of an ongoing civil war. A Phased Ballot Amid War The military government is conducting a staggered election nearly half a decade after it took control in a coup, which ignited widespread opposition and escalated into a devastating conflict. Analysts note the junta, with backing from Beijing, is attempting to validate and entrench its power as it looks for a way out of the costly deadlock. "There are no conditions for the practice of the freedoms of freedom of expression, association or peaceful assembly," UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk said. More than 200 people have been prosecuted for disrupting or opposing the polls under a recently enacted legislation which carries harsh penalties, including the death penalty. Director Mike Tee, actor Kyaw Win Htut and comedian Ohn Daing were among the well-known individuals found guilty under the law, which was enacted in July. They were each given a seven-year jail term after criticising a promotional video endorsing the elections. Immense Challenges and Pressure Civilians are "facing pressure from all sides," Mr Türk said in a statement, pointing out that resistance forces have issued their own threats asking people to boycott the polls. The army has been fighting on several fronts, against both pro-democracy fighters who reject the coup, as well as ethnic armies 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 Beijing and Moscow. All of this and the fact that significant regions of the country are still under rebel administration presents a massive logistical challenge for conducting an election. A Limited Vote The ballot is set to take place in three phases over the coming weeks in 274 of the country's three hundred and thirty townships, with the rest deemed too unstable. Results 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, not all constituencies will hold elections, making it challenging to predict a possible turnout. A handful of parties, including the military-backed Union Solidarity and Development Party, are running nominees nationwide, while another 51 parties and independent candidates will compete only at the local levels. Some 40 parties, including Aung San Suu Kyi's National League of Democracy, which achieved landslide victories in 2015 and 2020, have been dissolved. Suu Kyi and many of the party's senior figures have been jailed under charges widely condemned as politically motivated, while others are in exile. International Condemnation "Through dividing the vote into phases, the authorities can change their approach if the outcomes in the first phase do not go their way," noted Htin Kyaw Aye, a representative of the watchdog group Spring Sprouts. Nations in the West, including the United Kingdom and the European Parliament, have dismissed the vote as a pretence, while neighbouring group Asean has called for negotiations to come before any election. The Myanmar regime has rejected criticism of the polls, insisting that it aims to "restore a multi-party democratic system". "This vote is being held for Myanmar. It is being held for the citizens of this country. It is not being held for the international community," a military representative stated at a news conference last week. Military leader Min Aung Hlaing cautioned earlier this week that those who choose not to participate are turning their back on "progress toward democracy".