War-torn Myanmar Goes to the Polls in Broadly Condemned 'Sham' Election.
The nation is holding an election in a vote widely dismissed as a farce, with key opposition groups banned, many of their leaders imprisoned and as much as half of the country unlikely to vote because of an ongoing internal conflict.
A Staggered Vote Amid Conflict
The military government is conducting a staggered election nearly half a decade after it took control in a takeover, which ignited massive protests and spiralled into a devastating conflict.
Analysts note the military regime, with backing from Beijing, is attempting to validate and consolidate its power as it looks for a way out of the devastating stalemate.
"The environment does not allow for the exercise of the freedoms of freedom of expression, assembly or peaceful protest," the United Nations' top human rights official Volker Türk stated.
Over two hundred people have been charged for disrupting or criticising the election under a new law which imposes harsh penalties, including the death penalty.
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 speaking out against a film endorsing the elections.
Immense Challenges and Coercion
Civilians are "facing pressure from all sides," Mr Türk noted in a comment, pointing out that armed rebel groups have made warnings urging people to shun the polls.
The military has been engaged on multiple battlefields, against both armed resistance groups who reject the coup, as well as ethnic armies which have their own forces. It ceded territory of vast areas 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 significant regions of the country are still under opposition control presents a massive operational hurdle for holding an election.
A Restricted Poll
The ballot is set to take place in three rounds over the coming weeks in 274 of the country's 330 townships, with the rest deemed not secure enough. 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 likely 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 state or regional levels.
Some 40 parties, 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 key leaders have been imprisoned under charges widely condemned as fabricated, while the rest are in hiding abroad.
Criticism and Rejection
"By splitting the vote into phases, the authorities can change their approach 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 United Kingdom and the EU legislature, have dismissed the vote as a sham, while neighbouring group Asean has urged political dialogue to come before any election.
The Myanmar regime has dismissed criticism of the polls, maintaining that it aims to "return [the country] to a multi-party democratic system".
"This vote is being held for our nation. It is being held for the citizens of this country. It is not intended for the international community," a junta spokesman 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 "progress toward democracy".
