Conflict-ravaged Myanmar Votes in Broadly Condemned Political Theater.
Myanmar is going to the polls in a vote broadly rejected as a sham, with key opposition groups dissolved, many of their leaders imprisoned and as much as half of the country unable to participate because of an continuing internal conflict.
A Phased Ballot Amid Conflict
The military government is conducting a staggered election nearly half a decade after it seized power in a takeover, which sparked widespread opposition and escalated into a devastating conflict.
Observers say the military regime, with backing from Beijing, is attempting to validate and consolidate its power as it seeks a way out of the costly stalemate.
"The environment does not allow for the practice of the rights of free speech, assembly or peaceful assembly," UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk said.
More than 200 people have been prosecuted for interfering with or opposing the election under a recently enacted legislation which imposes harsh penalties, including the possibility of execution.
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 given a seven-year jail term after speaking out against a promotional video promoting the elections.
Logistical Nightmare and Pressure
Civilians are "facing pressure from all sides," Mr Türk noted in a comment, pointing out that resistance forces have made warnings urging people to boycott the polls.
The army has been engaged on several fronts, 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 string of defeats, 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 large parts of the country are still under rebel administration presents a massive logistical challenge for holding an election.
A Limited Vote
Voting is set to take place in three phases over the next month 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 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 hold elections, making it difficult to forecast a likely turnout.
Six parties, including the junta-supported Union Solidarity and Development Party, are running nominees nationwide, while dozens more parties and independent candidates will contest only at the state or regional 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 fabricated, while others are in exile.
International Condemnation
"Through dividing the vote into stages, the junta can adjust tactics if the results in the first phase do not go their way," noted Htin Kyaw Aye, a spokesman of the election-monitoring group Spring Sprouts.
Western governments, including the UK and the EU legislature, have rejected the vote as a pretence, while regional bloc Asean has called for political dialogue to come before any election.
The Burmese junta has rejected criticism of the polls, insisting that it aims to "return [the country] to a democracy with multiple parties".
"The election is being held for Myanmar. It is being held for the citizens of Myanmar. It is not being held for the international community," a military representative stated at a news conference last week.
Junta chief Min Aung Hlaing cautioned earlier this week that those who refuse to vote are rejecting "progress toward democracy".