War-torn Myanmar Goes to the Polls in Widely Criticised Political Theater.
Myanmar is going to the polls in a electoral process widely dismissed as a sham, with key opposition groups dissolved, many of their leaders imprisoned and a significant portion of the country unlikely to vote because of an ongoing civil war.
A Staggered Vote Amid War
The military government is holding a phased ballot nearly five years after it seized power in a coup, which sparked widespread opposition and spiralled into a devastating conflict.
Analysts note the junta, with China's support, is seeking to legitimise and consolidate its power as it looks for a way out of the devastating deadlock.
"There are no conditions for the practice of the freedoms of free speech, assembly or peaceful protest," the United Nations' top human rights official Volker Türk stated.
Over two hundred people have been prosecuted for disrupting or opposing the election under a new law which carries severe punishments, including the possibility of execution.
Film director Mike Tee, actor Kyaw Win Htut and comedian Ohn Daing were among the well-known individuals convicted under the law, which was enacted in July. They were each given a prison sentence of seven years after criticising a film promoting the elections.
Immense Challenges and Pressure
Civilians are "facing pressure from all sides," Mr Türk noted in a statement, pointing out that armed rebel groups have issued their own threats urging people to boycott the polls.
The army 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 lost control of large parts of the country in a series of major setbacks, but regained territory this year following relentless airstrikes enabled by support from Beijing and Moscow.
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 Limited Vote
The ballot is set to take place in three phases over the next month in 274 of the country's 330 townships, with the rest deemed not secure enough. 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, some districts will go to the polls, making it challenging to forecast a possible turnout.
A handful of parties, including the junta-supported Union Solidarity and Development Party, are fielding candidates nationwide, while another 51 parties and non-aligned contenders will compete only at the local levels.
Some 40 parties, including Aung San Suu Kyi's National League of Democracy, which scored landslide victories in 2015 and 2020, have been banned. Suu Kyi and a number of the party's senior figures have been jailed under charges widely condemned as politically motivated, while others are in hiding abroad.
Criticism and Rejection
"By splitting the vote into phases, the authorities can adjust tactics if the outcomes in the first phase do not go their way," commented Htin Kyaw Aye, a spokesman 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 called for negotiations to precede any election.
The Myanmar regime has rejected criticism of the polls, maintaining that it aims to "restore a multi-party democratic system".
"The election is being held for our nation. It is being held for the citizens of Myanmar. It is not intended for the international community," a military representative stated at a news conference last week.
Junta chief Min Aung Hlaing warned earlier this week that those who refuse to vote are turning their back on "the path to democracy".
