Conflict-ravaged Burma Goes to the Polls in Widely Criticised 'Sham' Election.
The nation is holding an election in a electoral process widely dismissed as a sham, with key opposition groups banned, numerous figures imprisoned and as much as half 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 half a decade after it seized power in a coup, which sparked massive protests and escalated into a civil war.
Analysts note the military regime, 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 practice of the rights of free speech, assembly or peaceful assembly," the United Nations' top human rights official Volker Türk stated.
More than 200 people have been charged for interfering with or opposing the election under a recently enacted legislation which carries severe punishments, including the death penalty.
Film director Mike Tee, performer Kyaw Win Htut and entertainer Ohn Daing were among the prominent figures convicted under the law, which was enacted in July. They were each handed a prison sentence of seven years after criticising a film promoting the elections.
Immense Challenges and Coercion
Civilians are "facing pressure from all sides," Mr Türk noted in a comment, adding that armed rebel groups have made warnings urging people to shun the polls.
The army has been engaged on several fronts, against both pro-democracy fighters who oppose the coup, as well as ethnic armed organisations which have their own forces. It lost control of vast areas of the country in a string of defeats, but regained territory this year after relentless airstrikes enabled by 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 conducting an election.
A Restricted Poll
Voting is set to take place in three rounds over the coming weeks in 274 of the country's 330 townships, with the remainder deemed not secure enough. Results are expected around the end of January.
There is unlikely to be any voting in as much as one half 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 junta-supported Union Solidarity and Development Party, are running nominees 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 achieved landslide victories in 2015 and 2020, have been banned. Suu Kyi and a number of the party's key leaders have been imprisoned under charges broadly viewed as politically motivated, while others are in exile.
Criticism and Rejection
"By splitting 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 election-monitoring group Spring Sprouts.
Western governments, including the UK and the European Parliament, have dismissed the vote as a pretence, while neighbouring group 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 democracy with multiple parties".
"The election is being held for our nation. It is being held for the citizens 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 choose not to participate are turning their back on "the path to democracy".
