🔗 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 widely dismissed as a farce, with key opposition groups dissolved, numerous figures jailed and a significant portion of the country unlikely to vote because of an continuing internal conflict. A Phased Ballot Amid War The ruling junta is conducting a phased ballot nearly five years after it took control in a coup, which sparked massive protests and escalated into a civil war. Analysts note the military regime, with backing from Beijing, is seeking to legitimise and entrench its power as it looks for a way out of the costly deadlock. "The environment does not allow for the practice of the rights of free speech, association or peaceful assembly," UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk stated. More than 200 people have been charged for disrupting or criticising the election under a recently enacted legislation which carries severe punishments, including the possibility of execution. Director Mike Tee, performer Kyaw Win Htut and entertainer Ohn Daing were among the prominent figures found guilty under the law, which was enacted in July. They were each given a seven-year jail term after criticising a film promoting the elections. Logistical Nightmare and Coercion Civilians are "facing pressure from all sides," Mr Türk noted in a statement, adding that armed rebel groups have made warnings asking people to shun the polls. The army has been fighting on multiple battlefields, against both armed resistance groups who oppose the coup, as well as ethnic armies 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 after sustained aerial bombardment made possible through support from Beijing and Moscow. All of this and the fact that significant regions of the country are still under opposition control presents a massive operational hurdle for holding an election. A Restricted Poll The ballot is set to take place in three phases over the next month in 274 of the country's 330 townships, with the rest deemed not secure enough. Results 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, not all constituencies will hold elections, making it challenging to predict a likely turnout. A handful of parties, including the military-backed Union Solidarity and Development Party, are running nominees nationwide, while another 51 parties and non-aligned contenders will contest only at the state or regional 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 many of the party's key leaders have been imprisoned under charges widely condemned as fabricated, while others are in hiding abroad. International Condemnation "Through dividing the vote into phases, the authorities can change their approach if the outcomes in the first phase do not go their way," commented Htin Kyaw Aye, a spokesman of the election-monitoring group Spring Sprouts. Western governments, including the United Kingdom and the European Parliament, have dismissed the vote as a sham, while regional bloc Asean has called for negotiations to precede any election. The Burmese junta has dismissed criticism 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 this country. It is not being held for the international community," a junta spokesman told a news conference 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".
The country's junta is conducting a staggered vote over the coming weeks. Myanmar is going to the polls in a electoral process widely dismissed as a farce, with key opposition groups dissolved, numerous figures jailed and a significant portion of the country unlikely to vote because of an continuing internal conflict. A Phased Ballot Amid War The ruling junta is conducting a phased ballot nearly five years after it took control in a coup, which sparked massive protests and escalated into a civil war. Analysts note the military regime, with backing from Beijing, is seeking to legitimise and entrench its power as it looks for a way out of the costly deadlock. "The environment does not allow for the practice of the rights of free speech, association or peaceful assembly," UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk stated. More than 200 people have been charged for disrupting or criticising the election under a recently enacted legislation which carries severe punishments, including the possibility of execution. Director Mike Tee, performer Kyaw Win Htut and entertainer Ohn Daing were among the prominent figures found guilty under the law, which was enacted in July. They were each given a seven-year jail term after criticising a film promoting the elections. Logistical Nightmare and Coercion Civilians are "facing pressure from all sides," Mr Türk noted in a statement, adding that armed rebel groups have made warnings asking people to shun the polls. The army has been fighting on multiple battlefields, against both armed resistance groups who oppose the coup, as well as ethnic armies 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 after sustained aerial bombardment made possible through support from Beijing and Moscow. All of this and the fact that significant regions of the country are still under opposition control presents a massive operational hurdle for holding an election. A Restricted Poll The ballot is set to take place in three phases over the next month in 274 of the country's 330 townships, with the rest deemed not secure enough. Results 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, not all constituencies will hold elections, making it challenging to predict a likely turnout. A handful of parties, including the military-backed Union Solidarity and Development Party, are running nominees nationwide, while another 51 parties and non-aligned contenders will contest only at the state or regional 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 many of the party's key leaders have been imprisoned under charges widely condemned as fabricated, while others are in hiding abroad. International Condemnation "Through dividing the vote into phases, the authorities can change their approach if the outcomes in the first phase do not go their way," commented Htin Kyaw Aye, a spokesman of the election-monitoring group Spring Sprouts. Western governments, including the United Kingdom and the European Parliament, have dismissed the vote as a sham, while regional bloc Asean has called for negotiations to precede any election. The Burmese junta has dismissed criticism 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 this country. It is not being held for the international community," a junta spokesman told a news conference 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".