🔗 Share this article Conflict-ravaged Myanmar Goes to the Polls in Widely Criticised Political Theater. The country's military is conducting a staggered vote over the coming weeks. Myanmar is going to the polls in a electoral process broadly rejected as a sham, with key opposition groups banned, many of their leaders jailed and a significant portion of the country unlikely to vote because of an continuing civil war. A Staggered Vote Amid War The ruling junta is holding a phased ballot nearly five years after it took control in a takeover, which sparked massive protests and escalated into a devastating conflict. 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 costly stalemate. "The environment does not allow for the exercise of the rights of freedom of expression, assembly or peaceful protest," the United Nations' top human rights official Volker Türk said. Over two hundred people have been prosecuted for disrupting or criticising the election under a new law which imposes severe punishments, including the death penalty. Director Mike Tee, actor Kyaw Win Htut and entertainer Ohn Daing were among the prominent figures convicted under the law, which was passed in July. They were each given a seven-year jail term after criticising a film promoting the elections. Immense Challenges and Pressure Civilians are "being coerced from all sides," Mr Türk said in a comment, adding that armed rebel groups have issued their own threats urging people to boycott the polls. The military has been engaged on several fronts, against both armed resistance groups who reject the coup, as well as ethnic armies which have their own militias. It ceded territory of vast areas of the country in a series of major setbacks, but clawed back territory this year after sustained aerial bombardment made possible through support from China and Russia. All of this and the fact that large parts of the country are still under opposition control presents a huge logistical challenge for holding an election. A Limited Vote Voting is set to take place in three phases over the coming weeks in two hundred and seventy-four of the country's 330 townships, with the rest deemed too unstable. Results 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, not all constituencies will go to the polls, making it challenging to predict a likely turnout. A handful of parties, including the junta-supported Union Solidarity and Development Party, are running nominees nationwide, while another 51 parties and non-aligned contenders will compete only at the local levels. Some 40 parties, including Aung San Suu Kyi's National League of Democracy, which achieved landslide victories in 2015 and 2020, have been banned. Suu Kyi and many of the party's senior figures have been imprisoned under charges widely condemned as fabricated, while others are in exile. Criticism and Rejection "Through dividing the vote into phases, the authorities can change their approach if the results in the first phase do not go their way," noted Htin Kyaw Aye, a spokesman of the watchdog group Spring Sprouts. Nations in the West, including the United Kingdom and the European Parliament, have rejected the vote as a sham, while regional bloc Asean has called for political dialogue to precede any election. The Burmese junta has dismissed condemnation of the polls, insisting that it aims to "restore a multi-party democratic system". "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 military representative stated at a briefing last week. Military leader Min Aung Hlaing warned earlier this week that those who refuse to vote are rejecting "progress toward democracy".
The country's military is conducting a staggered vote over the coming weeks. Myanmar is going to the polls in a electoral process broadly rejected as a sham, with key opposition groups banned, many of their leaders jailed and a significant portion of the country unlikely to vote because of an continuing civil war. A Staggered Vote Amid War The ruling junta is holding a phased ballot nearly five years after it took control in a takeover, which sparked massive protests and escalated into a devastating conflict. 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 costly stalemate. "The environment does not allow for the exercise of the rights of freedom of expression, assembly or peaceful protest," the United Nations' top human rights official Volker Türk said. Over two hundred people have been prosecuted for disrupting or criticising the election under a new law which imposes severe punishments, including the death penalty. Director Mike Tee, actor Kyaw Win Htut and entertainer Ohn Daing were among the prominent figures convicted under the law, which was passed in July. They were each given a seven-year jail term after criticising a film promoting the elections. Immense Challenges and Pressure Civilians are "being coerced from all sides," Mr Türk said in a comment, adding that armed rebel groups have issued their own threats urging people to boycott the polls. The military has been engaged on several fronts, against both armed resistance groups who reject the coup, as well as ethnic armies which have their own militias. It ceded territory of vast areas of the country in a series of major setbacks, but clawed back territory this year after sustained aerial bombardment made possible through support from China and Russia. All of this and the fact that large parts of the country are still under opposition control presents a huge logistical challenge for holding an election. A Limited Vote Voting is set to take place in three phases over the coming weeks in two hundred and seventy-four of the country's 330 townships, with the rest deemed too unstable. Results 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, not all constituencies will go to the polls, making it challenging to predict a likely turnout. A handful of parties, including the junta-supported Union Solidarity and Development Party, are running nominees nationwide, while another 51 parties and non-aligned contenders will compete only at the local levels. Some 40 parties, including Aung San Suu Kyi's National League of Democracy, which achieved landslide victories in 2015 and 2020, have been banned. Suu Kyi and many of the party's senior figures have been imprisoned under charges widely condemned as fabricated, while others are in exile. Criticism and Rejection "Through dividing the vote into phases, the authorities can change their approach if the results in the first phase do not go their way," noted Htin Kyaw Aye, a spokesman of the watchdog group Spring Sprouts. Nations in the West, including the United Kingdom and the European Parliament, have rejected the vote as a sham, while regional bloc Asean has called for political dialogue to precede any election. The Burmese junta has dismissed condemnation of the polls, insisting that it aims to "restore a multi-party democratic system". "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 military representative stated at a briefing last week. Military leader Min Aung Hlaing warned earlier this week that those who refuse to vote are rejecting "progress toward democracy".