Conflict-ravaged Myanmar Votes in Widely Criticised 'Sham' Election.
The nation is holding an election in a vote broadly rejected as a farce, with major political parties banned, many of their leaders jailed and a significant portion of the country unable to participate because of an ongoing civil war.
A Staggered Vote Amid Conflict
The military government is conducting a phased ballot nearly half a decade after it took control in a coup, which ignited widespread opposition and escalated into a devastating conflict.
Analysts note the junta, with China's support, is seeking to legitimise and entrench its power as it seeks a way out of the costly deadlock.
"There are no conditions for the exercise of the freedoms of free speech, assembly or peaceful protest," UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk said.
More than 200 people have been prosecuted for interfering with or opposing the polls under a recently enacted legislation which carries severe punishments, including the possibility of execution.
Director Mike Tee, performer Kyaw Win Htut and comedian Ohn Daing were among the well-known individuals convicted under the law, which was enacted in July. They were each handed a prison sentence of seven years after speaking out against a promotional video endorsing the elections.
Logistical Nightmare and Coercion
Civilians are "facing pressure from all sides," Mr Türk said in a comment, adding that armed rebel groups have made warnings urging people to shun the polls.
The army has been fighting on several fronts, against both armed resistance groups who oppose 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 after relentless airstrikes 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 logistical challenge for holding an election.
A Restricted Poll
Voting is set to take place in three phases over the coming weeks in 274 of the country's three hundred and thirty townships, with the rest deemed not secure enough. Results are expected by late January.
There is unlikely to be any voting in up to fifty percent of the country. Even in the townships that are voting, some districts will go to the polls, 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 independent candidates 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 many of the party's senior figures have been imprisoned under charges widely condemned as politically motivated, while others are in exile.
International Condemnation
"Through dividing the vote into stages, the junta can change their approach if the results in the initial round 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 rejected the vote as a pretence, while regional bloc Asean has called for political dialogue to come before any election.
The Burmese junta has rejected condemnation of the polls, insisting 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 outside world," a military representative told a briefing last week.
Military leader Min Aung Hlaing warned earlier this week that those who choose not to participate are rejecting "progress toward democracy".