War-torn Burma Votes in Widely Criticised 'Sham' Election.
Myanmar is going to the polls in a vote broadly rejected as a farce, with major political parties dissolved, numerous figures jailed and as much as half of the country unlikely to vote because of an ongoing civil war.
A Phased Ballot Amid War
The military government is conducting a phased ballot nearly five years after it took control in a takeover, which ignited widespread opposition and escalated 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 practice of the rights of freedom of expression, association or peaceful protest," UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker TĂĽrk stated.
Over two hundred people have been prosecuted for disrupting or opposing the polls under a recently enacted legislation which imposes harsh penalties, including the death penalty.
Director Mike Tee, performer 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 given a prison sentence of seven years after criticising a promotional video endorsing the elections.
Logistical Nightmare and Coercion
Civilians are "being coerced from all sides," Mr TĂĽrk noted in a comment, pointing out that armed rebel groups have issued their own threats asking people to shun the polls.
The army has been engaged on several fronts, against both armed resistance groups who reject 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 sustained aerial bombardment 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 coming weeks in two hundred and seventy-four of the country's three hundred and thirty townships, with the rest deemed not secure enough. Outcomes are expected around the end of 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 hold elections, making it difficult to predict a possible turnout.
A handful of parties, including the military-backed Union Solidarity and Development Party, are fielding candidates nationwide, while dozens more parties and non-aligned contenders will contest 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 dissolved. Suu Kyi and a number of the party's senior figures have been imprisoned under charges widely condemned as fabricated, while others are in hiding abroad.
International Condemnation
"By splitting the vote into stages, the junta can change their approach if the outcomes 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 EU legislature, have rejected the vote as a pretence, while neighbouring group Asean has urged negotiations to precede any election.
The Burmese junta has rejected criticism of the polls, insisting that it aims to "restore a democracy with multiple parties".
"This vote is being held for our nation. It is being held for the people of Myanmar. It is not intended for the outside world," a junta spokesman told a news conference last week.
Military leader Min Aung Hlaing cautioned earlier this week that those who refuse to vote are turning their back on "progress toward democracy".