🔗 Share this article Conflict-ravaged Burma Votes in Widely Criticised Political Theater. Myanmar's military is holding a staggered election over the coming weeks. Myanmar is going to the polls in a vote broadly rejected as a sham, with key opposition groups banned, numerous figures jailed and as much as half of the country unable to participate because of an continuing civil war. A Phased Ballot Amid War The ruling junta is conducting a staggered election nearly five years after it seized power in a coup, which ignited massive protests and escalated into a devastating conflict. Analysts note the junta, with backing from Beijing, is seeking to legitimise and consolidate its power as it seeks a way out of the costly stalemate. "There are no conditions for the exercise of the rights of free speech, assembly or peaceful protest," UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk stated. More than 200 people have been charged for disrupting or opposing the polls under a recently enacted legislation which imposes severe punishments, including the possibility of execution. Director Mike Tee, performer Kyaw Win Htut and comedian Ohn Daing were among the prominent figures found guilty under the law, which was enacted in July. They were each handed a prison sentence of seven years after speaking out against a promotional video endorsing the elections. Immense Challenges and Pressure Civilians are "being coerced from all sides," Mr Türk noted in a statement, adding that resistance forces have made warnings asking people to boycott the polls. The military has been engaged on multiple battlefields, against both pro-democracy fighters who oppose the coup, as well as ethnic armed organisations which have their own forces. It lost control of large parts of the country in a series of major setbacks, but regained territory this year following relentless airstrikes enabled by support from Beijing and Moscow. All of this and the fact that large parts of the country are still under rebel administration presents a huge operational hurdle for holding an election. A Restricted Poll Voting 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. Outcomes 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 forecast a possible turnout. Six parties, including the junta-supported Union Solidarity and Development Party, are fielding candidates 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 imprisoned under charges widely condemned as fabricated, while the rest are in hiding abroad. Criticism and Rejection "By splitting the vote into stages, the junta can adjust tactics if the results in the first phase do not go their way," commented Htin Kyaw Aye, a spokesman of the election-monitoring group Spring Sprouts. Nations in the West, including the UK and the European Parliament, have rejected the vote as a pretence, while regional bloc Asean has called for negotiations to precede any election. The Myanmar regime has rejected criticism 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 citizens of Myanmar. 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 refuse to vote are rejecting "the path to democracy".
Myanmar's military is holding a staggered election over the coming weeks. Myanmar is going to the polls in a vote broadly rejected as a sham, with key opposition groups banned, numerous figures jailed and as much as half of the country unable to participate because of an continuing civil war. A Phased Ballot Amid War The ruling junta is conducting a staggered election nearly five years after it seized power in a coup, which ignited massive protests and escalated into a devastating conflict. Analysts note the junta, with backing from Beijing, is seeking to legitimise and consolidate its power as it seeks a way out of the costly stalemate. "There are no conditions for the exercise of the rights of free speech, assembly or peaceful protest," UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk stated. More than 200 people have been charged for disrupting or opposing the polls under a recently enacted legislation which imposes severe punishments, including the possibility of execution. Director Mike Tee, performer Kyaw Win Htut and comedian Ohn Daing were among the prominent figures found guilty under the law, which was enacted in July. They were each handed a prison sentence of seven years after speaking out against a promotional video endorsing the elections. Immense Challenges and Pressure Civilians are "being coerced from all sides," Mr Türk noted in a statement, adding that resistance forces have made warnings asking people to boycott the polls. The military has been engaged on multiple battlefields, against both pro-democracy fighters who oppose the coup, as well as ethnic armed organisations which have their own forces. It lost control of large parts of the country in a series of major setbacks, but regained territory this year following relentless airstrikes enabled by support from Beijing and Moscow. All of this and the fact that large parts of the country are still under rebel administration presents a huge operational hurdle for holding an election. A Restricted Poll Voting 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. Outcomes 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 forecast a possible turnout. Six parties, including the junta-supported Union Solidarity and Development Party, are fielding candidates 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 imprisoned under charges widely condemned as fabricated, while the rest are in hiding abroad. Criticism and Rejection "By splitting the vote into stages, the junta can adjust tactics if the results in the first phase do not go their way," commented Htin Kyaw Aye, a spokesman of the election-monitoring group Spring Sprouts. Nations in the West, including the UK and the European Parliament, have rejected the vote as a pretence, while regional bloc Asean has called for negotiations to precede any election. The Myanmar regime has rejected criticism 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 citizens of Myanmar. 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 refuse to vote are rejecting "the path to democracy".