War-torn Myanmar Goes to the Polls in Widely Criticised Political Theater.
The nation is holding an election in a vote broadly rejected as a sham, with key opposition groups banned, many of their leaders jailed and as much as half of the country unable to participate because of an ongoing internal conflict.
A Phased Ballot Amid War
The ruling junta is conducting a staggered election nearly half a decade 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 consolidate its power as it seeks a way out of the devastating deadlock.
"There are no conditions for the practice of the rights of free speech, association or peaceful assembly," the United Nations' top human rights official Volker TĂĽrk said.
More than 200 people have been prosecuted for interfering with or criticising the polls under a recently enacted legislation which carries 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 passed in July. They were each handed a prison sentence of seven years after criticising a promotional video promoting the elections.
Immense Challenges and Coercion
Civilians are "being coerced from all sides," Mr TĂĽrk noted in a statement, adding that armed rebel groups have issued their own threats urging people to shun the polls.
The military has been fighting on several fronts, against both armed resistance groups who reject the coup, as well as ethnic armed organisations which have their own forces. It ceded territory of vast areas of the country in a series of major setbacks, but regained territory this year following sustained aerial bombardment enabled by support from China and Russia.
All of this and the fact that significant regions of the country are still under rebel administration presents a huge logistical challenge for holding an election.
A Limited Vote
The ballot is set to take place in three phases over the coming weeks in two hundred and seventy-four of the country's three hundred and thirty townships, with the remainder deemed not secure enough. Results are expected by late January.
There is unlikely to be any voting in up to fifty percent of the country. Even in the townships that are voting, not all constituencies will hold elections, making it challenging to predict a likely turnout.
Six 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 local levels.
Approximately forty groups, 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 senior figures have been jailed under charges broadly viewed as fabricated, while the rest are in hiding abroad.
International Condemnation
"By splitting the vote into phases, the authorities can adjust tactics if the results in the first phase do not go their way," noted Htin Kyaw Aye, a representative of the election-monitoring group Spring Sprouts.
Nations in the West, including the United Kingdom and the European Parliament, have dismissed the vote as a pretence, while neighbouring group Asean has urged negotiations to precede any election.
The Myanmar regime has dismissed condemnation of the polls, maintaining that it aims to "restore a multi-party democratic system".
"This vote is being held for Myanmar. It is being held for the citizens of this country. 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".
