🔗 Share this article Conflict-ravaged Myanmar Goes to the Polls in Widely Criticised 'Sham' Election. The country's military is conducting a staggered election over the next month. Myanmar is going to the polls in a electoral process widely dismissed as a farce, with major political parties dissolved, many of their leaders jailed and a significant portion of the country unlikely to vote because of an continuing civil war. A Phased Ballot Amid War The ruling junta is holding a staggered election nearly five years after it seized power in a coup, which sparked massive protests and escalated into a devastating conflict. Observers say the military regime, with China's support, is attempting to validate and entrench its power as it seeks a way out of the devastating stalemate. "There are no conditions for the exercise of the rights of freedom of expression, assembly or peaceful protest," UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk said. 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 death penalty. Film director Mike Tee, performer Kyaw Win Htut and entertainer 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 speaking out against a promotional video endorsing the elections. Logistical Nightmare and Coercion Civilians are "facing pressure from all sides," Mr Türk noted in a statement, adding that resistance forces have issued their own threats urging people to boycott the polls. The army has been fighting on several fronts, against both armed resistance groups who reject the coup, as well as ethnic armed organisations which have their own militias. It ceded territory of large parts of the country in a string of defeats, but clawed back territory this year after sustained aerial bombardment made possible through support from Beijing and Moscow. All of this and the fact that significant regions of the country are still under opposition control presents a huge operational hurdle for holding an election. A Limited Vote Voting is set to take place in three phases over the coming weeks in two hundred and seventy-four of the country's three hundred and thirty townships, with the remainder deemed not secure enough. Outcomes are expected around the end of 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, not all constituencies will hold elections, making it difficult to forecast a possible turnout. A handful of parties, including the junta-supported 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 scored landslide victories in 2015 and 2020, have been banned. Suu Kyi and many of the party's senior figures have been imprisoned under charges widely condemned as fabricated, while others are in exile. International Condemnation "Through dividing the vote into phases, 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 watchdog group Spring Sprouts. Western governments, including the United Kingdom and the EU legislature, have rejected the vote as a pretence, while neighbouring group Asean has urged negotiations to come before any election. The Burmese junta has dismissed condemnation of the polls, insisting that it aims to "restore a democracy with multiple parties". "The election is being held for our nation. It is being held for the people of Myanmar. It is not intended for the outside world," a junta spokesman told 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 "progress toward democracy".
The country's military is conducting a staggered election over the next month. Myanmar is going to the polls in a electoral process widely dismissed as a farce, with major political parties dissolved, many of their leaders jailed and a significant portion of the country unlikely to vote because of an continuing civil war. A Phased Ballot Amid War The ruling junta is holding a staggered election nearly five years after it seized power in a coup, which sparked massive protests and escalated into a devastating conflict. Observers say the military regime, with China's support, is attempting to validate and entrench its power as it seeks a way out of the devastating stalemate. "There are no conditions for the exercise of the rights of freedom of expression, assembly or peaceful protest," UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk said. 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 death penalty. Film director Mike Tee, performer Kyaw Win Htut and entertainer 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 speaking out against a promotional video endorsing the elections. Logistical Nightmare and Coercion Civilians are "facing pressure from all sides," Mr Türk noted in a statement, adding that resistance forces have issued their own threats urging people to boycott the polls. The army has been fighting on several fronts, against both armed resistance groups who reject the coup, as well as ethnic armed organisations which have their own militias. It ceded territory of large parts of the country in a string of defeats, but clawed back territory this year after sustained aerial bombardment made possible through support from Beijing and Moscow. All of this and the fact that significant regions of the country are still under opposition control presents a huge operational hurdle for holding an election. A Limited Vote Voting is set to take place in three phases over the coming weeks in two hundred and seventy-four of the country's three hundred and thirty townships, with the remainder deemed not secure enough. Outcomes are expected around the end of 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, not all constituencies will hold elections, making it difficult to forecast a possible turnout. A handful of parties, including the junta-supported 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 scored landslide victories in 2015 and 2020, have been banned. Suu Kyi and many of the party's senior figures have been imprisoned under charges widely condemned as fabricated, while others are in exile. International Condemnation "Through dividing the vote into phases, 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 watchdog group Spring Sprouts. Western governments, including the United Kingdom and the EU legislature, have rejected the vote as a pretence, while neighbouring group Asean has urged negotiations to come before any election. The Burmese junta has dismissed condemnation of the polls, insisting that it aims to "restore a democracy with multiple parties". "The election is being held for our nation. It is being held for the people of Myanmar. It is not intended for the outside world," a junta spokesman told 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 "progress toward democracy".