🔗 Share this article Conflict-ravaged Myanmar Votes in Widely Criticised 'Sham' Election. Myanmar's junta is holding a staggered vote over the next month. The nation is holding an election in a electoral process broadly rejected as a sham, with key opposition groups dissolved, many of their leaders imprisoned and a significant portion of the country unable to participate because of an ongoing civil war. A Phased Ballot Amid Conflict The military government is conducting a phased ballot nearly five years after it seized power in a takeover, which sparked massive protests and escalated 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 stalemate. "The environment does not allow for the practice of the freedoms of freedom of expression, association or peaceful assembly," UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk said. More than 200 people have been prosecuted for interfering with or criticising the polls under a recently enacted legislation which imposes severe punishments, including the death penalty. Film director Mike Tee, performer Kyaw Win Htut and comedian Ohn Daing were among the well-known individuals convicted 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. Logistical Nightmare and Coercion Civilians are "facing pressure from all sides," Mr Türk said in a statement, adding that resistance forces have made warnings urging people to shun the polls. The military has been fighting on multiple battlefields, against both pro-democracy fighters who oppose 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 clawed back territory this year after sustained aerial bombardment made possible through support from Beijing and Moscow. All of this and the fact that significant regions of the country are still under opposition control presents a huge logistical challenge for conducting an election. A Restricted Poll The ballot is set to take place in three rounds over the next month in 274 of the country's three hundred and thirty townships, with the remainder 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, some districts will hold elections, making it difficult to predict a likely turnout. Six parties, including the junta-supported Union Solidarity and Development Party, are fielding candidates nationwide, while another 51 parties and non-aligned contenders will contest 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 dissolved. Suu Kyi and a number of the party's senior figures have been jailed under charges widely condemned as fabricated, while the rest are in exile. Criticism and Rejection "By splitting the vote into phases, the authorities can adjust tactics if the results in the initial round do not go their way," noted Htin Kyaw Aye, a representative of the election-monitoring group Spring Sprouts. Western governments, including the United Kingdom and the European Parliament, have dismissed the vote as a pretence, while regional bloc Asean has urged negotiations to precede any election. The Burmese junta has rejected condemnation of the polls, insisting that it aims to "restore a multi-party democratic system". "The election is being held for Myanmar. It is being held for the people of Myanmar. It is not intended for the outside world," a military representative told a briefing last week. Junta chief Min Aung Hlaing cautioned earlier this week that those who refuse to vote are turning their back on "the path to democracy".
Myanmar's junta is holding a staggered vote over the next month. The nation is holding an election in a electoral process broadly rejected as a sham, with key opposition groups dissolved, many of their leaders imprisoned and a significant portion of the country unable to participate because of an ongoing civil war. A Phased Ballot Amid Conflict The military government is conducting a phased ballot nearly five years after it seized power in a takeover, which sparked massive protests and escalated 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 stalemate. "The environment does not allow for the practice of the freedoms of freedom of expression, association or peaceful assembly," UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk said. More than 200 people have been prosecuted for interfering with or criticising the polls under a recently enacted legislation which imposes severe punishments, including the death penalty. Film director Mike Tee, performer Kyaw Win Htut and comedian Ohn Daing were among the well-known individuals convicted 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. Logistical Nightmare and Coercion Civilians are "facing pressure from all sides," Mr Türk said in a statement, adding that resistance forces have made warnings urging people to shun the polls. The military has been fighting on multiple battlefields, against both pro-democracy fighters who oppose 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 clawed back territory this year after sustained aerial bombardment made possible through support from Beijing and Moscow. All of this and the fact that significant regions of the country are still under opposition control presents a huge logistical challenge for conducting an election. A Restricted Poll The ballot is set to take place in three rounds over the next month in 274 of the country's three hundred and thirty townships, with the remainder 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, some districts will hold elections, making it difficult to predict a likely turnout. Six parties, including the junta-supported Union Solidarity and Development Party, are fielding candidates nationwide, while another 51 parties and non-aligned contenders will contest 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 dissolved. Suu Kyi and a number of the party's senior figures have been jailed under charges widely condemned as fabricated, while the rest are in exile. Criticism and Rejection "By splitting the vote into phases, the authorities can adjust tactics if the results in the initial round do not go their way," noted Htin Kyaw Aye, a representative of the election-monitoring group Spring Sprouts. Western governments, including the United Kingdom and the European Parliament, have dismissed the vote as a pretence, while regional bloc Asean has urged negotiations to precede any election. The Burmese junta has rejected condemnation of the polls, insisting that it aims to "restore a multi-party democratic system". "The election is being held for Myanmar. It is being held for the people of Myanmar. It is not intended for the outside world," a military representative told a briefing last week. Junta chief Min Aung Hlaing cautioned earlier this week that those who refuse to vote are turning their back on "the path to democracy".