Conflict-ravaged Burma Votes in Widely Criticised Political Theater.
The nation is holding an election in a vote widely dismissed as a sham, with key opposition groups dissolved, many of their leaders imprisoned and a significant portion of the country unlikely to vote because of an continuing internal conflict.
A Staggered Vote Amid Conflict
The military government is holding a staggered election nearly five years after it seized power in a takeover, which sparked widespread opposition and escalated into a civil war.
Observers say the junta, with backing from Beijing, is seeking to legitimise and entrench its power as it looks for a way out of the costly deadlock.
"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 TĂĽrk stated.
More than 200 people have been charged for interfering with or opposing 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 well-known individuals 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.
Logistical Nightmare and Coercion
Civilians are "being coerced from all sides," Mr TĂĽrk said in a comment, adding that armed rebel groups have made warnings urging people to boycott the polls.
The army has been fighting 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 vast areas of the country in a string of defeats, but regained territory this year after sustained aerial bombardment made possible through support from China and Russia.
All of this and the fact that large parts of the country are still under rebel administration presents a huge logistical challenge for conducting an election.
A Restricted Poll
The ballot is set to take place in three phases over the next month in 274 of the country's 330 townships, with the remainder deemed not secure enough. 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, some districts will hold elections, making it difficult to forecast a possible turnout.
A handful of parties, including the junta-supported Union Solidarity and Development Party, are fielding candidates nationwide, while dozens more parties and independent candidates will contest 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 a number of the party's key leaders have been jailed under charges widely condemned as fabricated, while the rest are in hiding abroad.
Criticism and Rejection
"By splitting the vote into phases, the authorities can change their approach if the outcomes 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 EU legislature, have dismissed the vote as a sham, while regional bloc Asean has called for negotiations to come before any election.
The Burmese junta has dismissed criticism of the polls, maintaining that it aims to "restore a multi-party democratic system".
"The election is being held for Myanmar. It is being held for the people of Myanmar. It is not intended for the outside world," a military representative stated at a briefing last week.
Junta chief Min Aung Hlaing warned earlier this week that those who refuse to vote are turning their back on "progress toward democracy".
