🔗 Share this article Conflict-ravaged Burma Goes to the Polls in Widely Criticised 'Sham' Election. Myanmar's junta is holding a phased election over the coming weeks. The nation is holding an election in a vote widely dismissed as a sham, with key opposition groups dissolved, many of their leaders jailed and a significant portion of the country unlikely to vote because of an continuing civil war. A Staggered Vote Amid War The ruling junta is holding a staggered election nearly half a decade after it took control in a coup, which sparked massive protests and escalated into a devastating conflict. Observers say the junta, with China's support, is seeking to legitimise and entrench its power as it looks for a way out of the devastating stalemate. "There are no conditions for the exercise of the rights of free speech, association or peaceful assembly," the United Nations' top human rights official Volker Türk stated. More than 200 people have been charged for interfering with or criticising the polls under a recently enacted legislation which imposes harsh penalties, including the possibility of execution. Film director Mike Tee, actor Kyaw Win Htut and entertainer Ohn Daing were among the well-known individuals found guilty under the law, which was passed in July. They were each given a seven-year jail term after criticising a film promoting the elections. Immense Challenges and Pressure Civilians are "being coerced from all sides," Mr Türk said in a comment, adding that armed rebel groups have made warnings asking people to boycott the polls. The army 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 militias. It lost control of vast areas of the country in a series of major setbacks, but clawed back territory this year following 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 rebel administration presents a huge logistical challenge for holding an election. A Limited Vote Voting 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 rest deemed not secure enough. Results are expected by late 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 hold elections, making it challenging to predict a possible turnout. A handful of 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. 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 many of the party's senior figures have been imprisoned under charges broadly viewed as politically motivated, while others are in exile. International Condemnation "By splitting the vote into stages, the junta can change their approach if the results in the initial round do not go their way," commented Htin Kyaw Aye, a representative of the watchdog group Spring Sprouts. Western governments, including the United Kingdom and the European Parliament, have rejected the vote as a pretence, while regional bloc Asean has called for negotiations to precede any election. The Burmese junta has rejected condemnation of the polls, insisting that it aims to "return [the country] to a multi-party democratic system". "This vote is being held for Myanmar. It is being held for the people of this country. It is not intended for the international community," a military representative told a briefing 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".
Myanmar's junta is holding a phased election over the coming weeks. The nation is holding an election in a vote widely dismissed as a sham, with key opposition groups dissolved, many of their leaders jailed and a significant portion of the country unlikely to vote because of an continuing civil war. A Staggered Vote Amid War The ruling junta is holding a staggered election nearly half a decade after it took control in a coup, which sparked massive protests and escalated into a devastating conflict. Observers say the junta, with China's support, is seeking to legitimise and entrench its power as it looks for a way out of the devastating stalemate. "There are no conditions for the exercise of the rights of free speech, association or peaceful assembly," the United Nations' top human rights official Volker Türk stated. More than 200 people have been charged for interfering with or criticising the polls under a recently enacted legislation which imposes harsh penalties, including the possibility of execution. Film director Mike Tee, actor Kyaw Win Htut and entertainer Ohn Daing were among the well-known individuals found guilty under the law, which was passed in July. They were each given a seven-year jail term after criticising a film promoting the elections. Immense Challenges and Pressure Civilians are "being coerced from all sides," Mr Türk said in a comment, adding that armed rebel groups have made warnings asking people to boycott the polls. The army 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 militias. It lost control of vast areas of the country in a series of major setbacks, but clawed back territory this year following 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 rebel administration presents a huge logistical challenge for holding an election. A Limited Vote Voting 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 rest deemed not secure enough. Results are expected by late 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 hold elections, making it challenging to predict a possible turnout. A handful of 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. 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 many of the party's senior figures have been imprisoned under charges broadly viewed as politically motivated, while others are in exile. International Condemnation "By splitting the vote into stages, the junta can change their approach if the results in the initial round do not go their way," commented Htin Kyaw Aye, a representative of the watchdog group Spring Sprouts. Western governments, including the United Kingdom and the European Parliament, have rejected the vote as a pretence, while regional bloc Asean has called for negotiations to precede any election. The Burmese junta has rejected condemnation of the polls, insisting that it aims to "return [the country] to a multi-party democratic system". "This vote is being held for Myanmar. It is being held for the people of this country. It is not intended for the international community," a military representative told a briefing 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".