🔗 Share this article War-torn Myanmar Votes in Broadly Condemned 'Sham' Election. The country's military is conducting a staggered vote over the coming weeks. Myanmar is going to the polls in a vote broadly rejected as a farce, with key opposition groups dissolved, numerous figures imprisoned and a significant portion of the country unlikely to vote because of an ongoing internal conflict. A Phased Ballot Amid War The ruling junta is holding a staggered election nearly half a decade after it took control in a coup, which ignited massive protests and spiralled into a devastating conflict. Observers say the junta, with China's support, is seeking to legitimise and entrench its power as it seeks a way out of the costly stalemate. "The environment does not allow for the exercise of the freedoms of free speech, association or peaceful assembly," the United Nations' top human rights official Volker Türk stated. Over two hundred people have been charged for disrupting or opposing the election under a recently enacted legislation which carries severe punishments, including the possibility of execution. Film director Mike Tee, actor Kyaw Win Htut and entertainer Ohn Daing were among the prominent figures found guilty under the law, which was enacted in July. They were each given a prison sentence of seven years after criticising a film endorsing the elections. Immense Challenges and Coercion Civilians are "facing pressure from all sides," Mr Türk said in a statement, adding that resistance forces have made warnings urging people to shun the polls. The army has been engaged on several fronts, against both armed resistance groups who oppose the coup, as well as ethnic armies which have their own militias. It ceded territory of large parts of the country in a series of major setbacks, but regained territory this year following sustained aerial bombardment made possible through support from China and Russia. All of this and the fact that significant regions of the country are still under rebel administration presents a huge logistical challenge for holding an election. A Restricted Poll The ballot is set to take place in three rounds 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. 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, some districts will hold elections, making it difficult to predict a likely turnout. A handful of parties, including the junta-supported Union Solidarity and Development Party, are running nominees nationwide, while another 51 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 scored landslide victories in 2015 and 2020, have been dissolved. Suu Kyi and many of the party's key leaders have been imprisoned under charges broadly viewed as politically motivated, while the rest are in exile. Criticism and Rejection "Through dividing the vote into phases, the authorities can change their approach if the outcomes in the initial round do not go their way," noted Htin Kyaw Aye, a representative of the election-monitoring group Spring Sprouts. Nations in the West, including the UK and the European Parliament, have rejected the vote as a sham, while neighbouring group Asean has urged negotiations to come before any election. The Myanmar regime has dismissed criticism of the polls, insisting that it aims to "return [the country] to a democracy with multiple parties". "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 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".
The country's military is conducting a staggered vote over the coming weeks. Myanmar is going to the polls in a vote broadly rejected as a farce, with key opposition groups dissolved, numerous figures imprisoned and a significant portion of the country unlikely to vote because of an ongoing internal conflict. A Phased Ballot Amid War The ruling junta is holding a staggered election nearly half a decade after it took control in a coup, which ignited massive protests and spiralled into a devastating conflict. Observers say the junta, with China's support, is seeking to legitimise and entrench its power as it seeks a way out of the costly stalemate. "The environment does not allow for the exercise of the freedoms of free speech, association or peaceful assembly," the United Nations' top human rights official Volker Türk stated. Over two hundred people have been charged for disrupting or opposing the election under a recently enacted legislation which carries severe punishments, including the possibility of execution. Film director Mike Tee, actor Kyaw Win Htut and entertainer Ohn Daing were among the prominent figures found guilty under the law, which was enacted in July. They were each given a prison sentence of seven years after criticising a film endorsing the elections. Immense Challenges and Coercion Civilians are "facing pressure from all sides," Mr Türk said in a statement, adding that resistance forces have made warnings urging people to shun the polls. The army has been engaged on several fronts, against both armed resistance groups who oppose the coup, as well as ethnic armies which have their own militias. It ceded territory of large parts of the country in a series of major setbacks, but regained territory this year following sustained aerial bombardment made possible through support from China and Russia. All of this and the fact that significant regions of the country are still under rebel administration presents a huge logistical challenge for holding an election. A Restricted Poll The ballot is set to take place in three rounds 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. 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, some districts will hold elections, making it difficult to predict a likely turnout. A handful of parties, including the junta-supported Union Solidarity and Development Party, are running nominees nationwide, while another 51 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 scored landslide victories in 2015 and 2020, have been dissolved. Suu Kyi and many of the party's key leaders have been imprisoned under charges broadly viewed as politically motivated, while the rest are in exile. Criticism and Rejection "Through dividing the vote into phases, the authorities can change their approach if the outcomes in the initial round do not go their way," noted Htin Kyaw Aye, a representative of the election-monitoring group Spring Sprouts. Nations in the West, including the UK and the European Parliament, have rejected the vote as a sham, while neighbouring group Asean has urged negotiations to come before any election. The Myanmar regime has dismissed criticism of the polls, insisting that it aims to "return [the country] to a democracy with multiple parties". "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 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".