🔗 Share this article War-torn Burma Votes in Broadly Condemned 'Sham' Election. The country's military is conducting a phased vote over the next month. Myanmar is going to the polls in a vote broadly rejected as a sham, with major political parties dissolved, 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 military government is holding a phased ballot nearly five years after it took control in a coup, which sparked massive protests and spiralled into a devastating conflict. Analysts note the military regime, with China's support, is seeking to legitimise and consolidate its power as it looks for a way out of the costly deadlock. "There are no conditions for the exercise of the rights of free speech, association or peaceful assembly," UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk stated. Over two hundred people have been charged for interfering with or opposing the polls under a new law which imposes severe punishments, including the possibility of execution. Film director Mike Tee, actor Kyaw Win Htut and comedian Ohn Daing were among the prominent figures convicted under the law, which was enacted in July. They were each handed a prison sentence of seven years after speaking out against a film promoting the elections. Immense Challenges and Pressure Civilians are "facing pressure from all sides," Mr Türk said in a comment, pointing out that armed rebel groups have made warnings asking people to shun the polls. The army has been fighting on multiple battlefields, against both pro-democracy fighters who reject the coup, as well as ethnic armed organisations which have their own militias. It lost control of large parts of the country in a string of defeats, 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 operational hurdle for holding an election. A Limited Vote The ballot is set to take place in three phases over the next month in 274 of the country's three hundred and thirty townships, with the remainder deemed not secure enough. Outcomes are expected around the end of January. There is not expected 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 challenging to predict a possible 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 compete 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 banned. Suu Kyi and a number of the party's key leaders have been jailed under charges widely condemned as politically motivated, while others are in exile. International Condemnation "Through dividing the vote into stages, the authorities can adjust tactics if the results in the first phase do not go their way," noted Htin Kyaw Aye, a spokesman of the watchdog group Spring Sprouts. Nations in the West, including the United Kingdom and the EU legislature, have dismissed the vote as a pretence, while neighbouring group Asean has urged political dialogue to precede any election. The Myanmar regime has dismissed condemnation of the polls, maintaining that it aims to "return [the country] to a democracy with multiple parties". "The election is being held for Myanmar. It is being held for the citizens of Myanmar. It is not being held for the international community," a junta spokesman stated at a news conference last week. Military leader Min Aung Hlaing warned earlier this week that those who choose not to participate are rejecting "progress toward democracy".
The country's military is conducting a phased vote over the next month. Myanmar is going to the polls in a vote broadly rejected as a sham, with major political parties dissolved, 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 military government is holding a phased ballot nearly five years after it took control in a coup, which sparked massive protests and spiralled into a devastating conflict. Analysts note the military regime, with China's support, is seeking to legitimise and consolidate its power as it looks for a way out of the costly deadlock. "There are no conditions for the exercise of the rights of free speech, association or peaceful assembly," UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk stated. Over two hundred people have been charged for interfering with or opposing the polls under a new law which imposes severe punishments, including the possibility of execution. Film director Mike Tee, actor Kyaw Win Htut and comedian Ohn Daing were among the prominent figures convicted under the law, which was enacted in July. They were each handed a prison sentence of seven years after speaking out against a film promoting the elections. Immense Challenges and Pressure Civilians are "facing pressure from all sides," Mr Türk said in a comment, pointing out that armed rebel groups have made warnings asking people to shun the polls. The army has been fighting on multiple battlefields, against both pro-democracy fighters who reject the coup, as well as ethnic armed organisations which have their own militias. It lost control of large parts of the country in a string of defeats, 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 operational hurdle for holding an election. A Limited Vote The ballot is set to take place in three phases over the next month in 274 of the country's three hundred and thirty townships, with the remainder deemed not secure enough. Outcomes are expected around the end of January. There is not expected 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 challenging to predict a possible 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 compete 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 banned. Suu Kyi and a number of the party's key leaders have been jailed under charges widely condemned as politically motivated, while others are in exile. International Condemnation "Through dividing the vote into stages, the authorities can adjust tactics if the results in the first phase do not go their way," noted Htin Kyaw Aye, a spokesman of the watchdog group Spring Sprouts. Nations in the West, including the United Kingdom and the EU legislature, have dismissed the vote as a pretence, while neighbouring group Asean has urged political dialogue to precede any election. The Myanmar regime has dismissed condemnation of the polls, maintaining that it aims to "return [the country] to a democracy with multiple parties". "The election is being held for Myanmar. It is being held for the citizens of Myanmar. It is not being held for the international community," a junta spokesman stated at a news conference last week. Military leader Min Aung Hlaing warned earlier this week that those who choose not to participate are rejecting "progress toward democracy".