War-torn Burma Votes in Widely Criticised 'Sham' Election.
The nation is holding an election in a vote widely dismissed as a sham, with major political parties banned, numerous figures imprisoned and a significant portion of the country unlikely to vote 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 spiralled into a devastating conflict.
Observers say the military regime, with China's support, is seeking to legitimise and consolidate its power as it looks for a way out of the costly stalemate.
"The environment does not allow for the practice of the rights of freedom of expression, association or peaceful protest," UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk stated.
Over two hundred people have been prosecuted for disrupting or opposing the election under a new law which imposes harsh penalties, including the possibility of execution.
Film director Mike Tee, actor Kyaw Win Htut and comedian Ohn Daing were among the well-known individuals found guilty 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.
Immense Challenges and Pressure
Civilians are "being coerced from all sides," Mr Türk said in a statement, pointing out that armed rebel groups have issued their own threats asking people to shun the polls.
The army has been engaged on multiple battlefields, against both armed resistance groups 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 clawed back territory this year following relentless airstrikes enabled by support from Beijing and Moscow.
All of this and the fact that significant regions of the country are still under opposition control presents a massive operational hurdle for conducting an election.
A Limited Vote
The ballot is set to take place in three rounds over the coming weeks in 274 of the country's 330 townships, with the remainder 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, some districts will go to the polls, making it challenging to forecast a possible turnout.
A handful of parties, including the military-backed Union Solidarity and Development Party, are fielding candidates nationwide, while dozens more parties and independent candidates will contest only at the state or regional levels.
Approximately forty groups, including Aung San Suu Kyi's National League of Democracy, which achieved landslide victories in 2015 and 2020, have been banned. Suu Kyi and a number of the party's senior figures have been imprisoned under charges broadly viewed as politically motivated, while the rest are in hiding abroad.
International Condemnation
"By splitting the vote into phases, the authorities can adjust tactics if the outcomes in the first phase do not go their way," commented Htin Kyaw Aye, a representative of the election-monitoring group Spring Sprouts.
Western governments, including the UK and the EU legislature, have dismissed the vote as a sham, while neighbouring group Asean has called for negotiations to come before any election.
The Myanmar regime has rejected condemnation of the polls, maintaining 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 being held for the outside world," a military representative told a briefing last week.
Junta chief Min Aung Hlaing warned earlier this week that those who choose not to participate are turning their back on "the path to democracy".