War-torn Myanmar Votes in Widely Criticised 'Sham' Election.
The nation is holding an election in a electoral process broadly rejected as a farce, with major political parties banned, many of their leaders imprisoned and as much as half of the country unlikely to vote because of an continuing internal conflict.
A Staggered Vote Amid Conflict
The ruling junta is conducting a phased ballot nearly five years after it seized power in a takeover, which sparked widespread opposition and spiralled into a devastating conflict.
Analysts note the junta, with backing from Beijing, is seeking to legitimise and entrench its power as it seeks a way out of the costly deadlock.
"There are no conditions for the practice of the freedoms of free speech, assembly or peaceful assembly," the United Nations' top human rights official Volker Türk stated.
More than 200 people have been prosecuted 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 comedian Ohn Daing were among the well-known individuals found guilty under the law, which was enacted in July. They were each handed a seven-year jail term after speaking out against a film endorsing the elections.
Immense Challenges and Coercion
Civilians are "being coerced from all sides," Mr Türk noted in a statement, pointing out that resistance forces have made warnings urging people to shun the polls.
The army has been fighting on several fronts, against both pro-democracy fighters who reject the coup, as well as ethnic armed organisations which have their own forces. It lost control of large parts of the country in a string of defeats, but regained territory this year following relentless airstrikes made possible through support from China and Russia.
All of this and the fact that large parts of the country are still under rebel administration presents a massive logistical challenge for holding an election.
A Limited Vote
The ballot is set to take place in three rounds 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. 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 hold elections, making it challenging to predict a likely 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 compete 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 senior figures have been imprisoned under charges widely condemned as politically motivated, while the rest are in exile.
Criticism and Rejection
"By splitting the vote into phases, the junta can change their approach if the outcomes in the initial round do not go their way," noted Htin Kyaw Aye, a spokesman of the election-monitoring group Spring Sprouts.
Nations in the West, including the UK and the European Parliament, have dismissed the vote as a sham, while neighbouring group Asean has urged political dialogue to precede any election.
The Myanmar regime has rejected condemnation of the polls, maintaining that it aims to "restore a democracy with multiple parties".
"This vote is being held for Myanmar. It is being held for the citizens of Myanmar. It is not being held for the outside world," a military representative stated at a briefing last week.
Military leader Min Aung Hlaing warned earlier this week that those who choose not to participate are rejecting "the path to democracy".