War-torn Burma Goes to the Polls in Widely Criticised 'Sham' Election.
The nation is holding an election in a electoral process widely dismissed as a sham, with major political parties banned, many of their leaders jailed and a significant portion of the country unlikely to vote because of an ongoing civil war.
A Staggered Vote Amid Conflict
The ruling junta is holding a phased ballot 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 seeks a way out of the costly deadlock.
"There are no conditions for the exercise of the freedoms of free speech, association or peaceful assembly," the United Nations' top human rights official Volker TĂĽrk stated.
More than 200 people have been prosecuted for interfering with or opposing the polls under a new law which carries severe punishments, including the death penalty.
Film director Mike Tee, actor Kyaw Win Htut and comedian Ohn Daing were among the well-known individuals found guilty under the law, which was enacted in July. They were each handed a seven-year jail term after criticising a promotional video promoting the elections.
Logistical Nightmare and Pressure
Civilians are "being coerced from all sides," Mr TĂĽrk said in a comment, pointing out that resistance forces have issued their own threats urging people to boycott the polls.
The army has been engaged on several fronts, 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 string of defeats, but regained territory this year after relentless airstrikes enabled by support from China and Russia.
All of this and the fact that large parts of the country are still under rebel administration presents a huge operational hurdle for conducting an election.
A Restricted Poll
Voting is set to take place in three rounds over the next month in two hundred and seventy-four of the country's 330 townships, with the remainder deemed not secure enough. Results are expected by late January.
There is unlikely to be any voting in as much as one half of the country. Even in the townships that are voting, some districts will go to the polls, making it difficult 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.
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 key leaders have been jailed under charges widely condemned as politically motivated, while others are in hiding abroad.
International Condemnation
"By splitting the vote into phases, 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 election-monitoring group Spring Sprouts.
Western governments, including the United Kingdom and the European Parliament, have rejected the vote as a sham, while neighbouring group Asean has called for negotiations to precede any election.
The Burmese junta has dismissed criticism of the polls, insisting that it aims to "restore a multi-party democratic system".
"The election is being held for Myanmar. It is being held for the people of Myanmar. It is not intended for the international community," a military representative told a briefing last week.
Junta chief Min Aung Hlaing cautioned earlier this week that those who refuse to vote are turning their back on "progress toward democracy".
