War-torn Burma Votes in Widely Criticised 'Sham' Election.
The nation is holding an election in a electoral process widely dismissed as a sham, 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 Phased Ballot Amid Conflict
The military government is holding a phased ballot nearly five years after it took control in a coup, which sparked massive protests and spiralled into a devastating conflict.
Observers say the military regime, with backing from Beijing, is seeking to legitimise and consolidate 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 freedom of expression, association or peaceful protest," UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk said.
More than 200 people have been charged for disrupting or criticising the election under a recently enacted legislation which imposes harsh penalties, including the death penalty.
Director Mike Tee, actor Kyaw Win Htut and entertainer Ohn Daing were among the well-known individuals found guilty under the law, which was enacted in July. They were each given a prison sentence of seven years after criticising a film promoting the elections.
Logistical Nightmare and Pressure
Civilians are "being coerced from all sides," Mr Türk noted in a comment, adding that resistance forces have issued their own threats urging people to shun the polls.
The army has been engaged on several fronts, against both pro-democracy fighters who reject the coup, as well as ethnic armies which have their own militias. It ceded territory of large parts of the country in a series of major setbacks, 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 opposition control presents a massive logistical challenge for conducting 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 330 townships, with the remainder deemed too unstable. Outcomes are expected by late January.
There is not expected to be any voting in as much as one half 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.
Six parties, including the junta-supported Union Solidarity and Development Party, are running nominees nationwide, while another 51 parties and independent candidates will contest only at the local levels.
Some 40 parties, including Aung San Suu Kyi's National League of Democracy, which achieved decisive wins in 2015 and 2020, have been banned. Suu Kyi and a number of the party's senior figures have been imprisoned under charges widely condemned as fabricated, while the rest are in exile.
Criticism and Rejection
"By splitting the vote into phases, the authorities can change their approach if the results in the initial round do not go their way," commented Htin Kyaw Aye, a representative of the election-monitoring group Spring Sprouts.
Nations in the West, including the UK and the European Parliament, have rejected the vote as a pretence, while regional bloc Asean has urged negotiations to precede any election.
The Myanmar regime has dismissed criticism of the polls, insisting that it aims to "return [the country] to a multi-party democratic system".
"The election is being held for Myanmar. It is being held for the people of Myanmar. It is not being held for the international community," a junta spokesman stated at a news conference last week.
Junta chief Min Aung Hlaing warned earlier this week that those who choose not to participate are rejecting "the path to democracy".
