🔗 Share this article Conflict-ravaged Myanmar Votes in Widely Criticised 'Sham' Election. The country's military is conducting a phased election over the next month. Myanmar is going to the polls in a electoral process broadly rejected as a sham, with key opposition groups dissolved, numerous figures imprisoned and as much as half of the country unable to participate because of an continuing internal conflict. A Staggered Vote Amid Conflict The ruling junta is holding a staggered election nearly five years after it seized power in a takeover, which sparked widespread opposition and escalated into a devastating conflict. Observers say the military regime, with backing from Beijing, is seeking to legitimise and entrench its power as it seeks a way out of the costly stalemate. "The environment does not allow for the exercise of the rights of freedom of expression, assembly or peaceful protest," UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk said. Over two hundred people have been prosecuted for interfering with or criticising the polls under a recently enacted legislation which imposes harsh penalties, including the death penalty. Film director Mike Tee, actor Kyaw Win Htut and comedian Ohn Daing were among the prominent figures found guilty under the law, which was enacted in July. They were each given a seven-year jail term after criticising a film endorsing the elections. Immense Challenges and Coercion Civilians are "facing pressure from all sides," Mr Türk said in a statement, adding that armed rebel groups have made warnings urging people to shun the polls. The military has been fighting on multiple battlefields, against both pro-democracy fighters who reject the coup, as well as ethnic armies which have their own forces. It ceded territory of large parts of the country in a series of major setbacks, but regained territory this year following relentless airstrikes made possible through support from China and Russia. All of this and the fact that large parts of the country are still under rebel administration presents a huge logistical challenge for holding an election. A Limited Vote Voting is set to take place in three rounds over the next month in 274 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 predict a possible turnout. Six parties, including the junta-supported Union Solidarity and Development Party, are running nominees nationwide, while dozens more parties and independent candidates will contest 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 a number of the party's key leaders have been jailed under charges broadly viewed as fabricated, while the rest are in exile. International Condemnation "Through dividing the vote into stages, the junta can change their approach if the outcomes in the first phase do not go their way," commented Htin Kyaw Aye, a representative of the election-monitoring group Spring Sprouts. Nations in the West, including the United Kingdom and the EU legislature, have rejected the vote as a pretence, while neighbouring group Asean has called for political dialogue to come before any election. The Myanmar regime has dismissed criticism of the polls, insisting that it aims to "return [the country] to a democracy with multiple parties". "This vote is being held for Myanmar. It is being held for the people of Myanmar. It is not being held for the outside world," 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 "the path to democracy".
The country's military is conducting a phased election over the next month. Myanmar is going to the polls in a electoral process broadly rejected as a sham, with key opposition groups dissolved, numerous figures imprisoned and as much as half of the country unable to participate because of an continuing internal conflict. A Staggered Vote Amid Conflict The ruling junta is holding a staggered election nearly five years after it seized power in a takeover, which sparked widespread opposition and escalated into a devastating conflict. Observers say the military regime, with backing from Beijing, is seeking to legitimise and entrench its power as it seeks a way out of the costly stalemate. "The environment does not allow for the exercise of the rights of freedom of expression, assembly or peaceful protest," UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk said. Over two hundred people have been prosecuted for interfering with or criticising the polls under a recently enacted legislation which imposes harsh penalties, including the death penalty. Film director Mike Tee, actor Kyaw Win Htut and comedian Ohn Daing were among the prominent figures found guilty under the law, which was enacted in July. They were each given a seven-year jail term after criticising a film endorsing the elections. Immense Challenges and Coercion Civilians are "facing pressure from all sides," Mr Türk said in a statement, adding that armed rebel groups have made warnings urging people to shun the polls. The military has been fighting on multiple battlefields, against both pro-democracy fighters who reject the coup, as well as ethnic armies which have their own forces. It ceded territory of large parts of the country in a series of major setbacks, but regained territory this year following relentless airstrikes made possible through support from China and Russia. All of this and the fact that large parts of the country are still under rebel administration presents a huge logistical challenge for holding an election. A Limited Vote Voting is set to take place in three rounds over the next month in 274 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 predict a possible turnout. Six parties, including the junta-supported Union Solidarity and Development Party, are running nominees nationwide, while dozens more parties and independent candidates will contest 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 a number of the party's key leaders have been jailed under charges broadly viewed as fabricated, while the rest are in exile. International Condemnation "Through dividing the vote into stages, the junta can change their approach if the outcomes in the first phase do not go their way," commented Htin Kyaw Aye, a representative of the election-monitoring group Spring Sprouts. Nations in the West, including the United Kingdom and the EU legislature, have rejected the vote as a pretence, while neighbouring group Asean has called for political dialogue to come before any election. The Myanmar regime has dismissed criticism of the polls, insisting that it aims to "return [the country] to a democracy with multiple parties". "This vote is being held for Myanmar. It is being held for the people of Myanmar. It is not being held for the outside world," 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 "the path to democracy".