🔗 Share this article War-torn Burma Votes in Widely Criticised Political Theater. The country's junta is conducting a staggered vote over the coming weeks. Myanmar is going to the polls in a electoral process broadly rejected as a farce, with key opposition groups banned, many of their leaders jailed and a significant portion of the country unlikely to vote because of an continuing internal conflict. A Staggered Vote Amid Conflict The ruling junta is holding a phased ballot nearly half a decade after it seized power in a coup, which sparked widespread opposition and escalated into a devastating conflict. Observers say the military regime, with China's support, is attempting to validate and consolidate its power as it looks for a way out of the costly stalemate. "There are no conditions for the practice of the rights of freedom of expression, assembly or peaceful assembly," the United Nations' top human rights official Volker Türk said. Over two hundred people have been charged for interfering with or opposing the polls under a recently enacted legislation which imposes severe punishments, including the possibility of execution. Director Mike Tee, actor Kyaw Win Htut and entertainer Ohn Daing were among the prominent figures convicted under the law, which was enacted in July. They were each given a seven-year jail term after criticising a film endorsing the elections. Logistical Nightmare and Pressure Civilians are "being coerced from all sides," Mr Türk noted in a comment, adding that armed rebel groups have made warnings urging people to boycott the polls. The military 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 forces. It ceded territory of vast areas of the country in a series of major setbacks, but clawed back territory this year following sustained aerial bombardment enabled by 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 conducting 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 rest deemed too unstable. Outcomes are expected by late 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, not all constituencies 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 fielding candidates 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 the rest are in exile. International Condemnation "Through dividing the vote into stages, the junta can change their approach if the outcomes in the initial round do not go their way," noted Htin Kyaw Aye, a representative of the watchdog 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 Myanmar regime has rejected condemnation of the polls, insisting that it aims to "restore a democracy with multiple parties". "This vote 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 stated at a news conference last week. Military leader Min Aung Hlaing warned earlier this week that those who refuse to vote are turning their back on "progress toward democracy".
The country's junta is conducting a staggered vote over the coming weeks. Myanmar is going to the polls in a electoral process broadly rejected as a farce, with key opposition groups banned, many of their leaders jailed and a significant portion of the country unlikely to vote because of an continuing internal conflict. A Staggered Vote Amid Conflict The ruling junta is holding a phased ballot nearly half a decade after it seized power in a coup, which sparked widespread opposition and escalated into a devastating conflict. Observers say the military regime, with China's support, is attempting to validate and consolidate its power as it looks for a way out of the costly stalemate. "There are no conditions for the practice of the rights of freedom of expression, assembly or peaceful assembly," the United Nations' top human rights official Volker Türk said. Over two hundred people have been charged for interfering with or opposing the polls under a recently enacted legislation which imposes severe punishments, including the possibility of execution. Director Mike Tee, actor Kyaw Win Htut and entertainer Ohn Daing were among the prominent figures convicted under the law, which was enacted in July. They were each given a seven-year jail term after criticising a film endorsing the elections. Logistical Nightmare and Pressure Civilians are "being coerced from all sides," Mr Türk noted in a comment, adding that armed rebel groups have made warnings urging people to boycott the polls. The military 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 forces. It ceded territory of vast areas of the country in a series of major setbacks, but clawed back territory this year following sustained aerial bombardment enabled by 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 conducting 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 rest deemed too unstable. Outcomes are expected by late 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, not all constituencies 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 fielding candidates 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 the rest are in exile. International Condemnation "Through dividing the vote into stages, the junta can change their approach if the outcomes in the initial round do not go their way," noted Htin Kyaw Aye, a representative of the watchdog 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 Myanmar regime has rejected condemnation of the polls, insisting that it aims to "restore a democracy with multiple parties". "This vote 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 stated at a news conference last week. Military leader Min Aung Hlaing warned earlier this week that those who refuse to vote are turning their back on "progress toward democracy".