🔗 Share this article Conflict-ravaged Myanmar Goes to the Polls in Widely Criticised 'Sham' Election. Myanmar's military is holding a staggered vote over the coming weeks. Myanmar is going to the polls in a electoral process broadly rejected as a sham, with major political parties dissolved, numerous figures imprisoned and as much as half of the country unlikely to vote because of an continuing civil war. A Phased Ballot Amid Conflict The military government is conducting a phased ballot nearly five years after it took control in a coup, which sparked widespread opposition and spiralled into a civil war. Analysts note the junta, with China's support, is attempting to validate and consolidate its power as it seeks a way out of the devastating stalemate. "The environment does not allow for the practice of the freedoms of freedom of expression, assembly or peaceful assembly," UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk stated. Over two hundred people have been prosecuted for disrupting or opposing the election under a recently enacted legislation which imposes severe punishments, including the death penalty. Director Mike Tee, performer Kyaw Win Htut and entertainer Ohn Daing were among the prominent figures convicted under the law, which was enacted in July. They were each handed a prison sentence of seven years after speaking out against a promotional video promoting the elections. Logistical Nightmare and Coercion Civilians are "being coerced from all sides," Mr Türk noted in a statement, pointing out that armed rebel groups have made warnings asking people to boycott the polls. The military has been fighting on multiple battlefields, against both armed resistance groups who reject the coup, as well as ethnic armed organisations which have their own militias. It lost control of vast areas of the country in a series of major setbacks, but regained territory this year following relentless airstrikes 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 rounds over the coming weeks in 274 of the country's three hundred and thirty townships, with the rest deemed too unstable. Results are expected around the end of January. There is not expected 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 likely turnout. Six parties, including the junta-supported Union Solidarity and Development Party, are running nominees nationwide, while another 51 parties and non-aligned contenders will compete only at the state or regional levels. Some 40 parties, including Aung San Suu Kyi's National League of Democracy, which achieved landslide victories in 2015 and 2020, have been banned. Suu Kyi and many of the party's senior figures have been jailed under charges widely condemned as fabricated, while the rest are in hiding abroad. International Condemnation "Through dividing the vote into stages, the junta can adjust tactics if the outcomes 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 United Kingdom and the EU legislature, have rejected the vote as a sham, while neighbouring group Asean has urged negotiations to come before any election. The Burmese junta has rejected criticism of the polls, maintaining that it aims to "return [the country] to a multi-party democratic system". "The election is being held for our nation. It is being held for the citizens of this country. It is not being held for the outside world," a military representative stated at a news conference last week. Military leader Min Aung Hlaing cautioned earlier this week that those who choose not to participate are turning their back on "progress toward democracy".
Myanmar's military is holding a staggered vote over the coming weeks. Myanmar is going to the polls in a electoral process broadly rejected as a sham, with major political parties dissolved, numerous figures imprisoned and as much as half of the country unlikely to vote because of an continuing civil war. A Phased Ballot Amid Conflict The military government is conducting a phased ballot nearly five years after it took control in a coup, which sparked widespread opposition and spiralled into a civil war. Analysts note the junta, with China's support, is attempting to validate and consolidate its power as it seeks a way out of the devastating stalemate. "The environment does not allow for the practice of the freedoms of freedom of expression, assembly or peaceful assembly," UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk stated. Over two hundred people have been prosecuted for disrupting or opposing the election under a recently enacted legislation which imposes severe punishments, including the death penalty. Director Mike Tee, performer Kyaw Win Htut and entertainer Ohn Daing were among the prominent figures convicted under the law, which was enacted in July. They were each handed a prison sentence of seven years after speaking out against a promotional video promoting the elections. Logistical Nightmare and Coercion Civilians are "being coerced from all sides," Mr Türk noted in a statement, pointing out that armed rebel groups have made warnings asking people to boycott the polls. The military has been fighting on multiple battlefields, against both armed resistance groups who reject the coup, as well as ethnic armed organisations which have their own militias. It lost control of vast areas of the country in a series of major setbacks, but regained territory this year following relentless airstrikes 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 rounds over the coming weeks in 274 of the country's three hundred and thirty townships, with the rest deemed too unstable. Results are expected around the end of January. There is not expected 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 likely turnout. Six parties, including the junta-supported Union Solidarity and Development Party, are running nominees nationwide, while another 51 parties and non-aligned contenders will compete only at the state or regional levels. Some 40 parties, including Aung San Suu Kyi's National League of Democracy, which achieved landslide victories in 2015 and 2020, have been banned. Suu Kyi and many of the party's senior figures have been jailed under charges widely condemned as fabricated, while the rest are in hiding abroad. International Condemnation "Through dividing the vote into stages, the junta can adjust tactics if the outcomes 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 United Kingdom and the EU legislature, have rejected the vote as a sham, while neighbouring group Asean has urged negotiations to come before any election. The Burmese junta has rejected criticism of the polls, maintaining that it aims to "return [the country] to a multi-party democratic system". "The election is being held for our nation. It is being held for the citizens of this country. It is not being held for the outside world," a military representative stated at a news conference last week. Military leader Min Aung Hlaing cautioned earlier this week that those who choose not to participate are turning their back on "progress toward democracy".