🔗 Share this article War-torn Burma Goes to the Polls in Broadly Condemned 'Sham' Election. Myanmar's junta is holding a phased election over the next month. Myanmar is going to the polls in a electoral process broadly rejected as a sham, with major political parties dissolved, many of their leaders jailed and a significant portion of the country unable to participate because of an continuing civil war. A Phased Ballot Amid Conflict The military government is conducting a staggered election nearly half a decade after it seized power in a coup, which ignited massive protests and spiralled into a devastating conflict. Analysts note the junta, with backing from Beijing, is attempting to validate and consolidate its power as it seeks a way out of the costly stalemate. "There are no conditions for the practice of the rights of freedom of expression, association or peaceful protest," the United Nations' top human rights official Volker Türk stated. More than 200 people have been prosecuted for interfering with or criticising the polls under a new law which carries harsh penalties, including the death penalty. Film director Mike Tee, performer Kyaw Win Htut and entertainer Ohn Daing were among the prominent figures convicted under the law, which was passed in July. They were each handed a seven-year jail term after criticising a promotional video endorsing the elections. Immense Challenges and Coercion Civilians are "being coerced from all sides," Mr Türk noted in a statement, pointing out that resistance forces have issued their own threats urging people to shun the polls. The army has been engaged on several fronts, against both pro-democracy fighters who reject the coup, as well as ethnic armies which have their own militias. It lost control of large parts of the country in a series of major setbacks, but regained territory this year after 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 opposition control presents a massive operational hurdle for holding an election. A Restricted Poll Voting is set to take place in three phases 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 unlikely to be any voting in as much as one half of the country. Even in the townships that are voting, some districts will go to the polls, making it challenging to predict a possible turnout. Six parties, including the military-backed Union Solidarity and Development Party, are running nominees nationwide, while another 51 parties and independent candidates 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 many of the party's key leaders have been jailed under charges widely condemned as politically motivated, while the rest are in exile. Criticism and Rejection "By splitting the vote into phases, the junta can adjust tactics if the outcomes in the initial round do not go their way," noted Htin Kyaw Aye, a representative of the watchdog group Spring Sprouts. Western governments, including the United Kingdom and the EU legislature, have dismissed the vote as a pretence, while regional bloc Asean has urged political dialogue to come before any election. The Myanmar regime has rejected criticism of the polls, maintaining that it aims to "restore a democracy with multiple parties". "The election is being held for our nation. It is being held for the people of this country. It is not intended for the outside world," a military representative told a briefing 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".
Myanmar's junta is holding a phased election over the next month. Myanmar is going to the polls in a electoral process broadly rejected as a sham, with major political parties dissolved, many of their leaders jailed and a significant portion of the country unable to participate because of an continuing civil war. A Phased Ballot Amid Conflict The military government is conducting a staggered election nearly half a decade after it seized power in a coup, which ignited massive protests and spiralled into a devastating conflict. Analysts note the junta, with backing from Beijing, is attempting to validate and consolidate its power as it seeks a way out of the costly stalemate. "There are no conditions for the practice of the rights of freedom of expression, association or peaceful protest," the United Nations' top human rights official Volker Türk stated. More than 200 people have been prosecuted for interfering with or criticising the polls under a new law which carries harsh penalties, including the death penalty. Film director Mike Tee, performer Kyaw Win Htut and entertainer Ohn Daing were among the prominent figures convicted under the law, which was passed in July. They were each handed a seven-year jail term after criticising a promotional video endorsing the elections. Immense Challenges and Coercion Civilians are "being coerced from all sides," Mr Türk noted in a statement, pointing out that resistance forces have issued their own threats urging people to shun the polls. The army has been engaged on several fronts, against both pro-democracy fighters who reject the coup, as well as ethnic armies which have their own militias. It lost control of large parts of the country in a series of major setbacks, but regained territory this year after 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 opposition control presents a massive operational hurdle for holding an election. A Restricted Poll Voting is set to take place in three phases 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 unlikely to be any voting in as much as one half of the country. Even in the townships that are voting, some districts will go to the polls, making it challenging to predict a possible turnout. Six parties, including the military-backed Union Solidarity and Development Party, are running nominees nationwide, while another 51 parties and independent candidates 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 many of the party's key leaders have been jailed under charges widely condemned as politically motivated, while the rest are in exile. Criticism and Rejection "By splitting the vote into phases, the junta can adjust tactics if the outcomes in the initial round do not go their way," noted Htin Kyaw Aye, a representative of the watchdog group Spring Sprouts. Western governments, including the United Kingdom and the EU legislature, have dismissed the vote as a pretence, while regional bloc Asean has urged political dialogue to come before any election. The Myanmar regime has rejected criticism of the polls, maintaining that it aims to "restore a democracy with multiple parties". "The election is being held for our nation. It is being held for the people of this country. It is not intended for the outside world," a military representative told a briefing 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".