🔗 Share this article War-torn Myanmar Goes to the Polls in Widely Criticised 'Sham' Election. The country's military is holding a staggered election over the next month. Myanmar is going to the polls in a vote broadly rejected as a sham, with major political parties banned, many of their leaders jailed and a significant portion of the country unable to participate because of an continuing internal conflict. A Phased Ballot Amid War The military government is conducting a phased ballot nearly five years after it seized power in a coup, which ignited widespread opposition and escalated into a devastating conflict. Observers say the military regime, with China's support, is seeking to legitimise and entrench its power as it seeks a way out of the costly stalemate. "The environment does not allow for the exercise of the freedoms of free speech, assembly or peaceful assembly," UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk said. More than 200 people have been charged for disrupting or criticising the polls under a new law which carries severe punishments, including the possibility of execution. Director Mike Tee, actor Kyaw Win Htut and comedian Ohn Daing were among the prominent figures found guilty under the law, which was enacted in July. They were each handed a seven-year jail term after speaking out against a promotional video endorsing the elections. Logistical Nightmare and Coercion Civilians are "facing pressure from all sides," Mr Türk said in a comment, pointing out that resistance forces have issued their own threats urging people to boycott the polls. The army has been engaged on multiple battlefields, 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 string of defeats, but clawed back 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 huge logistical challenge for holding an election. A Restricted Poll Voting is set to take place in three phases over the coming weeks in two hundred and seventy-four of the country's 330 townships, with the remainder deemed too unstable. Results 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. Six parties, including the junta-supported Union Solidarity and Development Party, are running nominees nationwide, while another 51 parties and independent candidates will contest only at the state or regional levels. Approximately forty groups, including Aung San Suu Kyi's National League of Democracy, which achieved landslide victories in 2015 and 2020, have been dissolved. Suu Kyi and many of the party's key leaders have been jailed under charges broadly viewed as fabricated, while others are in hiding abroad. International Condemnation "By splitting the vote into phases, the authorities can adjust tactics 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 UK and the European Parliament, have rejected the vote as a sham, while regional bloc Asean has urged negotiations to precede any election. The Burmese junta has dismissed condemnation of the polls, insisting that it aims to "restore 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 being held for the international community," a junta spokesman told a briefing last week. Junta chief Min Aung Hlaing cautioned earlier this week that those who choose not to participate are rejecting "progress toward democracy".
The country's military is holding a staggered election over the next month. Myanmar is going to the polls in a vote broadly rejected as a sham, with major political parties banned, many of their leaders jailed and a significant portion of the country unable to participate because of an continuing internal conflict. A Phased Ballot Amid War The military government is conducting a phased ballot nearly five years after it seized power in a coup, which ignited widespread opposition and escalated into a devastating conflict. Observers say the military regime, with China's support, is seeking to legitimise and entrench its power as it seeks a way out of the costly stalemate. "The environment does not allow for the exercise of the freedoms of free speech, assembly or peaceful assembly," UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk said. More than 200 people have been charged for disrupting or criticising the polls under a new law which carries severe punishments, including the possibility of execution. Director Mike Tee, actor Kyaw Win Htut and comedian Ohn Daing were among the prominent figures found guilty under the law, which was enacted in July. They were each handed a seven-year jail term after speaking out against a promotional video endorsing the elections. Logistical Nightmare and Coercion Civilians are "facing pressure from all sides," Mr Türk said in a comment, pointing out that resistance forces have issued their own threats urging people to boycott the polls. The army has been engaged on multiple battlefields, 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 string of defeats, but clawed back 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 huge logistical challenge for holding an election. A Restricted Poll Voting is set to take place in three phases over the coming weeks in two hundred and seventy-four of the country's 330 townships, with the remainder deemed too unstable. Results 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. Six parties, including the junta-supported Union Solidarity and Development Party, are running nominees nationwide, while another 51 parties and independent candidates will contest only at the state or regional levels. Approximately forty groups, including Aung San Suu Kyi's National League of Democracy, which achieved landslide victories in 2015 and 2020, have been dissolved. Suu Kyi and many of the party's key leaders have been jailed under charges broadly viewed as fabricated, while others are in hiding abroad. International Condemnation "By splitting the vote into phases, the authorities can adjust tactics 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 UK and the European Parliament, have rejected the vote as a sham, while regional bloc Asean has urged negotiations to precede any election. The Burmese junta has dismissed condemnation of the polls, insisting that it aims to "restore 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 being held for the international community," a junta spokesman told a briefing last week. Junta chief Min Aung Hlaing cautioned earlier this week that those who choose not to participate are rejecting "progress toward democracy".