🔗 Share this article Conflict-ravaged Myanmar Goes to the Polls in Broadly Condemned 'Sham' Election. Myanmar's junta is conducting a phased election over the coming weeks. Myanmar is going to the polls in a electoral process broadly rejected as a sham, with major political parties banned, numerous figures imprisoned and as much as half of the country unable to participate because of an ongoing internal conflict. A Staggered Vote Amid War The military government is holding a phased ballot nearly five years after it took control in a takeover, which ignited widespread opposition and escalated into a civil war. Analysts note the military regime, with China's support, is seeking to legitimise and entrench its power as it looks for a way out of the devastating stalemate. "There are no conditions for the practice of the freedoms of free speech, association or peaceful protest," UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk said. Over two hundred people have been charged for disrupting or criticising the election under a new law which imposes severe punishments, including the possibility of execution. Director Mike Tee, performer Kyaw Win Htut and comedian Ohn Daing were among the prominent figures 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 Türk noted in a statement, pointing out that resistance forces have issued their own threats asking people to boycott the polls. The army has been engaged on several fronts, against both armed resistance groups who oppose the coup, as well as ethnic armies which have their own forces. It ceded territory of vast areas of the country in a string of defeats, but clawed back territory this year following relentless airstrikes 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 huge logistical challenge for holding an election. A Restricted Poll The ballot is set to take place in three phases 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 by late January. There is not expected to be any voting in up to fifty percent of the country. Even in the townships that are voting, some districts 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. 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 a number of the party's key leaders have been jailed under charges widely condemned as fabricated, while others are in exile. International Condemnation "Through dividing the vote into phases, the junta can adjust tactics if the results in the initial round do not go their way," noted Htin Kyaw Aye, a representative of the election-monitoring group Spring Sprouts. Western governments, including the United Kingdom and the EU legislature, have dismissed the vote as a sham, while regional bloc Asean has urged negotiations to come before any election. The Burmese junta has dismissed condemnation of the polls, maintaining that it aims to "restore a democracy with multiple parties". "The election is being held for Myanmar. It is being held for the citizens of Myanmar. It is not intended for the international community," a junta spokesman told a briefing last week. Military leader Min Aung Hlaing cautioned earlier this week that those who choose not to participate are rejecting "progress toward democracy".
Myanmar's junta is conducting a phased election over the coming weeks. Myanmar is going to the polls in a electoral process broadly rejected as a sham, with major political parties banned, numerous figures imprisoned and as much as half of the country unable to participate because of an ongoing internal conflict. A Staggered Vote Amid War The military government is holding a phased ballot nearly five years after it took control in a takeover, which ignited widespread opposition and escalated into a civil war. Analysts note the military regime, with China's support, is seeking to legitimise and entrench its power as it looks for a way out of the devastating stalemate. "There are no conditions for the practice of the freedoms of free speech, association or peaceful protest," UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk said. Over two hundred people have been charged for disrupting or criticising the election under a new law which imposes severe punishments, including the possibility of execution. Director Mike Tee, performer Kyaw Win Htut and comedian Ohn Daing were among the prominent figures 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 Türk noted in a statement, pointing out that resistance forces have issued their own threats asking people to boycott the polls. The army has been engaged on several fronts, against both armed resistance groups who oppose the coup, as well as ethnic armies which have their own forces. It ceded territory of vast areas of the country in a string of defeats, but clawed back territory this year following relentless airstrikes 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 huge logistical challenge for holding an election. A Restricted Poll The ballot is set to take place in three phases 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 by late January. There is not expected to be any voting in up to fifty percent of the country. Even in the townships that are voting, some districts 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. 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 a number of the party's key leaders have been jailed under charges widely condemned as fabricated, while others are in exile. International Condemnation "Through dividing the vote into phases, the junta can adjust tactics if the results in the initial round do not go their way," noted Htin Kyaw Aye, a representative of the election-monitoring group Spring Sprouts. Western governments, including the United Kingdom and the EU legislature, have dismissed the vote as a sham, while regional bloc Asean has urged negotiations to come before any election. The Burmese junta has dismissed condemnation of the polls, maintaining that it aims to "restore a democracy with multiple parties". "The election is being held for Myanmar. It is being held for the citizens of Myanmar. It is not intended for the international community," a junta spokesman told a briefing last week. Military leader Min Aung Hlaing cautioned earlier this week that those who choose not to participate are rejecting "progress toward democracy".