Conflict-ravaged Burma Goes to the Polls in Widely Criticised 'Sham' Election.
The nation is holding an election in a electoral process broadly rejected as a sham, with major political parties banned, numerous figures jailed and a significant portion of the country unable to participate because of an continuing internal conflict.
A Staggered Vote Amid War
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 civil war.
Analysts note the junta, with backing from Beijing, 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 freedoms of free speech, assembly 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 polls under a new law which imposes harsh penalties, including the possibility of execution.
Film director Mike Tee, actor Kyaw Win Htut and entertainer Ohn Daing were among the well-known individuals found guilty under the law, which was passed in July. They were each given a prison sentence of seven years after criticising a promotional video endorsing the elections.
Immense Challenges and Coercion
Civilians are "facing pressure from all sides," Mr Türk noted in a comment, adding that resistance forces have issued their own threats urging people to boycott the polls.
The military has been fighting on multiple battlefields, against both armed resistance groups who reject the coup, as well as ethnic armies which have their own militias. It lost control of large parts of the country in a series of major setbacks, but clawed back territory this year following sustained aerial bombardment enabled by support from Beijing and Moscow.
All of this and the fact that large parts of the country are still under opposition control presents a huge logistical challenge for holding 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 330 townships, with the remainder deemed too unstable. Results are expected around the end of January.
There is unlikely to be any voting in up to fifty percent of the country. Even in the townships that are voting, not all constituencies will go to the polls, making it challenging to predict a possible turnout.
Six parties, including the military-backed Union Solidarity and Development Party, are running nominees nationwide, while dozens more parties and non-aligned contenders will contest only at the local levels.
Approximately forty groups, including Aung San Suu Kyi's National League of Democracy, which achieved decisive wins in 2015 and 2020, have been dissolved. Suu Kyi and a number of the party's senior figures have been jailed under charges broadly viewed as politically motivated, while the rest are in exile.
Criticism and Rejection
"Through dividing the vote into stages, the authorities can change their approach if the results in the first phase do not go their way," noted Htin Kyaw Aye, a spokesman 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 called for negotiations to precede any election.
The Burmese junta has rejected criticism of the polls, insisting 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 this country. It is not being held for the international community," a military representative told a briefing last week.
Junta chief Min Aung Hlaing warned earlier this week that those who refuse to vote are rejecting "the path to democracy".