Conflict-ravaged Myanmar Votes in Broadly Condemned Political Theater.
Myanmar is going to the polls in a vote widely dismissed as a sham, with major political parties dissolved, many of their leaders jailed and as much as half of the country unlikely to vote because of an ongoing civil war.
A Staggered Vote Amid Conflict
The military government is conducting a staggered election nearly five years after it seized power in a takeover, which sparked widespread opposition and spiralled into a civil war.
Analysts note the junta, with China's support, is seeking to legitimise and entrench its power as it looks for a way out of the devastating deadlock.
"The environment does not allow for the exercise of the freedoms of free speech, association or peaceful assembly," the United Nations' top human rights official Volker TĂĽrk stated.
Over two hundred people have been charged for interfering with or criticising the election under a new law which carries severe punishments, including the possibility of execution.
Film director Mike Tee, performer Kyaw Win Htut and entertainer Ohn Daing were among the well-known individuals convicted under the law, which was passed in July. They were each given a prison sentence of seven years after criticising a promotional video promoting the elections.
Immense Challenges and Pressure
Civilians are "being coerced from all sides," Mr TĂĽrk said in a statement, pointing out that armed rebel groups have issued their own threats asking people to boycott the polls.
The military has been engaged on multiple battlefields, against both pro-democracy fighters 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 string of defeats, but clawed back territory this year following sustained aerial bombardment enabled by support from China and Russia.
All of this and the fact that large parts of the country are still under opposition control presents a massive operational hurdle for holding an election.
A Limited Vote
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 too unstable. Results 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 forecast a possible turnout.
A handful of parties, including the military-backed Union Solidarity and Development Party, are running nominees nationwide, while another 51 parties and non-aligned contenders will compete 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 banned. Suu Kyi and many of the party's key leaders have been jailed 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 first phase do not go their way," commented Htin Kyaw Aye, a representative of the election-monitoring group Spring Sprouts.
Western governments, including the United Kingdom and the EU legislature, have dismissed the vote as a pretence, while neighbouring group Asean has urged political dialogue to come before any election.
The Burmese junta has rejected criticism 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 people of Myanmar. It is not intended for the outside world," a junta spokesman stated at a news conference last week.
Junta chief Min Aung Hlaing cautioned earlier this week that those who choose not to participate are rejecting "the path to democracy".
