🔗 Share this article Conflict-ravaged Myanmar Goes to the Polls in Widely Criticised 'Sham' Election. The country's military is conducting a staggered election over the coming weeks. The nation is holding an election in a vote broadly rejected as a farce, with key opposition groups banned, numerous figures imprisoned and a significant portion of the country unable to participate because of an continuing internal conflict. A Phased Ballot Amid Conflict The ruling junta is conducting a phased ballot nearly five years after it took control in a takeover, which sparked massive protests and spiralled into a civil war. Observers say the military regime, with China's support, is seeking to legitimise and entrench its power as it seeks a way out of the devastating stalemate. "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 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. Film 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 given a prison sentence of seven years after criticising a film promoting the elections. Immense Challenges and Coercion Civilians are "being coerced from all sides," Mr Türk said in a comment, pointing out that resistance forces have issued their own threats asking people to shun the polls. The military 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 militias. It lost control of vast areas of the country in a series of major setbacks, but regained 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 massive logistical challenge for holding an election. A Limited Vote Voting 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 rest deemed too unstable. Outcomes are expected around the end of 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 difficult to forecast a likely turnout. Six 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 state or regional levels. Some 40 parties, including Aung San Suu Kyi's National League of Democracy, which achieved landslide victories in 2015 and 2020, have been dissolved. Suu Kyi and a number of the party's key leaders have been jailed under charges broadly viewed as politically motivated, while the rest are in hiding abroad. Criticism and Rejection "Through dividing the vote into phases, the junta can adjust tactics if the results in the initial round do not go their way," commented Htin Kyaw Aye, a representative of the watchdog group Spring Sprouts. Nations in the West, including the UK 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 Myanmar regime has dismissed criticism of the polls, maintaining that it aims to "return [the country] to a multi-party democratic system". "The election is being held for our nation. It is being held for the people of this country. It is not being held for the international community," a military representative told a news conference last week. Military leader Min Aung Hlaing cautioned earlier this week that those who refuse to vote are turning their back on "progress toward democracy".
The country's military is conducting a staggered election over the coming weeks. The nation is holding an election in a vote broadly rejected as a farce, with key opposition groups banned, numerous figures imprisoned and a significant portion of the country unable to participate because of an continuing internal conflict. A Phased Ballot Amid Conflict The ruling junta is conducting a phased ballot nearly five years after it took control in a takeover, which sparked massive protests and spiralled into a civil war. Observers say the military regime, with China's support, is seeking to legitimise and entrench its power as it seeks a way out of the devastating stalemate. "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 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. Film 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 given a prison sentence of seven years after criticising a film promoting the elections. Immense Challenges and Coercion Civilians are "being coerced from all sides," Mr Türk said in a comment, pointing out that resistance forces have issued their own threats asking people to shun the polls. The military 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 militias. It lost control of vast areas of the country in a series of major setbacks, but regained 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 massive logistical challenge for holding an election. A Limited Vote Voting 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 rest deemed too unstable. Outcomes are expected around the end of 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 difficult to forecast a likely turnout. Six 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 state or regional levels. Some 40 parties, including Aung San Suu Kyi's National League of Democracy, which achieved landslide victories in 2015 and 2020, have been dissolved. Suu Kyi and a number of the party's key leaders have been jailed under charges broadly viewed as politically motivated, while the rest are in hiding abroad. Criticism and Rejection "Through dividing the vote into phases, the junta can adjust tactics if the results in the initial round do not go their way," commented Htin Kyaw Aye, a representative of the watchdog group Spring Sprouts. Nations in the West, including the UK 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 Myanmar regime has dismissed criticism of the polls, maintaining that it aims to "return [the country] to a multi-party democratic system". "The election is being held for our nation. It is being held for the people of this country. It is not being held for the international community," a military representative told a news conference last week. Military leader Min Aung Hlaing cautioned earlier this week that those who refuse to vote are turning their back on "progress toward democracy".