Conflict-ravaged Burma Goes to the Polls in Broadly Condemned Political Theater.
Myanmar is going to the polls in a electoral process widely dismissed as a farce, with major political parties dissolved, many of their leaders jailed and as much as half of the country unlikely to vote because of an ongoing civil war.
A Phased Ballot Amid War
The ruling junta is conducting a staggered election nearly half a decade after it seized power in a coup, which sparked massive protests and escalated into a devastating conflict.
Analysts note the junta, with backing from Beijing, is seeking to legitimise and entrench its power as it looks for a way out of the devastating deadlock.
"The environment does not allow for the exercise of the freedoms of free speech, assembly or peaceful assembly," the United Nations' top human rights official Volker TĂĽrk stated.
More than 200 people have been charged for disrupting or criticising the election under a new law which imposes harsh penalties, including the possibility of execution.
Film director Mike Tee, performer Kyaw Win Htut and comedian Ohn Daing were among the well-known individuals found guilty 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 TĂĽrk said in a comment, adding that resistance forces have issued their own threats asking people to shun the polls.
The army has been fighting on several fronts, 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 series of major setbacks, but regained territory this year after relentless airstrikes enabled by support from Beijing and Moscow.
All of this and the fact that large parts of the country are still under opposition control presents a massive 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 three hundred and thirty townships, with the rest 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.
Six parties, including the junta-supported Union Solidarity and Development Party, are fielding candidates nationwide, while dozens more parties and non-aligned contenders will contest only at the state or regional levels.
Approximately forty groups, including Aung San Suu Kyi's National League of Democracy, which achieved decisive wins in 2015 and 2020, have been banned. Suu Kyi and a number of the party's senior figures have been imprisoned under charges broadly viewed as fabricated, while the rest are in exile.
International Condemnation
"Through dividing the vote into stages, the junta can adjust tactics if the results in the initial round do not go their way," noted Htin Kyaw Aye, a representative of the election-monitoring group Spring Sprouts.
Western governments, including the United Kingdom and the EU legislature, have dismissed the vote as a pretence, while neighbouring group Asean has called for negotiations to come before any election.
The Myanmar regime 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 citizens of this country. It is not being held for the outside world," a junta spokesman told a news conference last week.
Junta chief Min Aung Hlaing cautioned earlier this week that those who choose not to participate are turning their back on "the path to democracy".
