🔗 Share this article Conflict-ravaged Myanmar Goes to the Polls in Widely Criticised 'Sham' Election. The country's military is conducting a phased vote over the next month. The nation is holding an election in a electoral process widely dismissed as a farce, with major political parties banned, numerous figures imprisoned and as much as half of the country unable to participate because of an continuing civil war. A Staggered Vote Amid Conflict The ruling junta is conducting a staggered election nearly five years after it took control in a takeover, which sparked massive protests and spiralled into a civil war. Analysts note the junta, with China's support, is attempting to validate and consolidate its power as it seeks a way out of the devastating deadlock. "The environment does not allow for the practice of the freedoms of free speech, association or peaceful protest," the United Nations' top human rights official Volker Türk stated. Over two hundred people have been prosecuted for interfering with or criticising the election under a new law which imposes harsh penalties, including the possibility of execution. Film director Mike Tee, performer Kyaw Win Htut and entertainer Ohn Daing were among the well-known individuals found guilty under the law, which was passed in July. They were each handed a prison sentence of seven years after speaking out against a film endorsing the elections. Immense Challenges and Pressure Civilians are "being coerced from all sides," Mr Türk noted in a statement, adding that resistance forces have made warnings urging people to shun the polls. The army has been fighting on several fronts, against both armed resistance groups who oppose the coup, as well as ethnic armies 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 sustained aerial bombardment enabled by support from Beijing and Moscow. All of this and the fact that large parts of the country are still under opposition control presents a massive operational hurdle for conducting an election. A Limited Vote The ballot is set to take place in three phases over the next month in two hundred and seventy-four of the country's 330 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 go to the polls, making it challenging to forecast 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 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 achieved landslide victories in 2015 and 2020, have been banned. Suu Kyi and a number of the party's key leaders have been jailed under charges widely condemned as fabricated, while the rest are in hiding abroad. Criticism and Rejection "Through dividing the vote into stages, the authorities can change their approach if the results in the initial round do not go their way," commented Htin Kyaw Aye, a spokesman of the watchdog group Spring Sprouts. Nations in the West, including the United Kingdom and the European Parliament, have dismissed the vote as a sham, while neighbouring group Asean has urged political dialogue to precede any election. The Burmese junta has rejected condemnation of the polls, insisting 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 Myanmar. It is not being held for the international community," a military representative stated at a briefing last week. Military leader Min Aung Hlaing cautioned earlier this week that those who choose not to participate are rejecting "the path to democracy".
The country's military is conducting a phased vote over the next month. The nation is holding an election in a electoral process widely dismissed as a farce, with major political parties banned, numerous figures imprisoned and as much as half of the country unable to participate because of an continuing civil war. A Staggered Vote Amid Conflict The ruling junta is conducting a staggered election nearly five years after it took control in a takeover, which sparked massive protests and spiralled into a civil war. Analysts note the junta, with China's support, is attempting to validate and consolidate its power as it seeks a way out of the devastating deadlock. "The environment does not allow for the practice of the freedoms of free speech, association or peaceful protest," the United Nations' top human rights official Volker Türk stated. Over two hundred people have been prosecuted for interfering with or criticising the election under a new law which imposes harsh penalties, including the possibility of execution. Film director Mike Tee, performer Kyaw Win Htut and entertainer Ohn Daing were among the well-known individuals found guilty under the law, which was passed in July. They were each handed a prison sentence of seven years after speaking out against a film endorsing the elections. Immense Challenges and Pressure Civilians are "being coerced from all sides," Mr Türk noted in a statement, adding that resistance forces have made warnings urging people to shun the polls. The army has been fighting on several fronts, against both armed resistance groups who oppose the coup, as well as ethnic armies 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 sustained aerial bombardment enabled by support from Beijing and Moscow. All of this and the fact that large parts of the country are still under opposition control presents a massive operational hurdle for conducting an election. A Limited Vote The ballot is set to take place in three phases over the next month in two hundred and seventy-four of the country's 330 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 go to the polls, making it challenging to forecast 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 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 achieved landslide victories in 2015 and 2020, have been banned. Suu Kyi and a number of the party's key leaders have been jailed under charges widely condemned as fabricated, while the rest are in hiding abroad. Criticism and Rejection "Through dividing the vote into stages, the authorities can change their approach if the results in the initial round do not go their way," commented Htin Kyaw Aye, a spokesman of the watchdog group Spring Sprouts. Nations in the West, including the United Kingdom and the European Parliament, have dismissed the vote as a sham, while neighbouring group Asean has urged political dialogue to precede any election. The Burmese junta has rejected condemnation of the polls, insisting 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 Myanmar. It is not being held for the international community," a military representative stated at a briefing last week. Military leader Min Aung Hlaing cautioned earlier this week that those who choose not to participate are rejecting "the path to democracy".