🔗 Share this article War-torn Burma Goes to the Polls in Broadly Condemned Political Theater. Myanmar's junta is conducting a phased election over the next month. Myanmar is going to the polls in a vote broadly rejected as a farce, with key opposition groups dissolved, many of their leaders jailed and as much as half of the country unable to participate because of an continuing civil war. A Phased Ballot Amid War The ruling junta is holding a staggered election nearly half a decade after it seized power in a takeover, which sparked massive protests and escalated into a civil war. Observers say the junta, with backing from Beijing, is seeking to legitimise 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 assembly," the United Nations' top human rights official Volker Türk said. Over two hundred people have been charged for interfering with or opposing the polls under a recently enacted legislation which carries severe punishments, including the possibility of execution. Director Mike Tee, performer Kyaw Win Htut and entertainer Ohn Daing were among the prominent figures found guilty under the law, which was enacted in July. They were each given a prison sentence of seven years after criticising a film endorsing the elections. Immense Challenges and Coercion Civilians are "facing pressure from all sides," Mr Türk noted in a comment, adding that armed rebel groups have issued their own threats asking people to shun the polls. The military has been engaged on multiple battlefields, against both pro-democracy fighters 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 relentless airstrikes enabled by support from China and Russia. 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 The ballot is set to take place in three phases over the coming weeks in 274 of the country's three hundred and thirty townships, with the remainder deemed too unstable. Outcomes are expected by late January. There is unlikely to be any voting in as much as one half of the country. Even in the townships that are voting, not all constituencies will go to the polls, making it challenging to forecast a possible turnout. A handful of parties, including the military-backed Union Solidarity and Development Party, are fielding candidates 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 a number of the party's senior figures have been imprisoned under charges widely condemned as politically motivated, while others are in exile. Criticism and Rejection "By splitting the vote into phases, the authorities can adjust tactics if the results in the first phase do not go their way," noted Htin Kyaw Aye, a spokesman of the watchdog group Spring Sprouts. Nations in the West, including the UK and the European Parliament, have dismissed the vote as a sham, while regional bloc Asean has urged negotiations to come before any election. The Myanmar regime has dismissed condemnation of the polls, insisting that it aims to "return [the country] to a multi-party democratic system". "This vote is being held for our nation. It is being held for the citizens of Myanmar. It is not being held for the international community," a military representative told a briefing last week. Junta chief Min Aung Hlaing warned earlier this week that those who choose not to participate are rejecting "the path to democracy".
Myanmar's junta is conducting a phased election over the next month. Myanmar is going to the polls in a vote broadly rejected as a farce, with key opposition groups dissolved, many of their leaders jailed and as much as half of the country unable to participate because of an continuing civil war. A Phased Ballot Amid War The ruling junta is holding a staggered election nearly half a decade after it seized power in a takeover, which sparked massive protests and escalated into a civil war. Observers say the junta, with backing from Beijing, is seeking to legitimise 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 assembly," the United Nations' top human rights official Volker Türk said. Over two hundred people have been charged for interfering with or opposing the polls under a recently enacted legislation which carries severe punishments, including the possibility of execution. Director Mike Tee, performer Kyaw Win Htut and entertainer Ohn Daing were among the prominent figures found guilty under the law, which was enacted in July. They were each given a prison sentence of seven years after criticising a film endorsing the elections. Immense Challenges and Coercion Civilians are "facing pressure from all sides," Mr Türk noted in a comment, adding that armed rebel groups have issued their own threats asking people to shun the polls. The military has been engaged on multiple battlefields, against both pro-democracy fighters 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 relentless airstrikes enabled by support from China and Russia. 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 The ballot is set to take place in three phases over the coming weeks in 274 of the country's three hundred and thirty townships, with the remainder deemed too unstable. Outcomes are expected by late January. There is unlikely to be any voting in as much as one half of the country. Even in the townships that are voting, not all constituencies will go to the polls, making it challenging to forecast a possible turnout. A handful of parties, including the military-backed Union Solidarity and Development Party, are fielding candidates 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 a number of the party's senior figures have been imprisoned under charges widely condemned as politically motivated, while others are in exile. Criticism and Rejection "By splitting the vote into phases, the authorities can adjust tactics if the results in the first phase do not go their way," noted Htin Kyaw Aye, a spokesman of the watchdog group Spring Sprouts. Nations in the West, including the UK and the European Parliament, have dismissed the vote as a sham, while regional bloc Asean has urged negotiations to come before any election. The Myanmar regime has dismissed condemnation of the polls, insisting that it aims to "return [the country] to a multi-party democratic system". "This vote is being held for our nation. It is being held for the citizens of Myanmar. It is not being held for the international community," a military representative told a briefing last week. Junta chief Min Aung Hlaing warned earlier this week that those who choose not to participate are rejecting "the path to democracy".