🔗 Share this article Conflict-ravaged Myanmar Votes in Broadly Condemned Political Theater. Myanmar's military is conducting a staggered vote over the coming weeks. Myanmar is going to the polls in a electoral process widely dismissed as a farce, with key opposition groups dissolved, many of their leaders jailed and as much as half of the country unlikely to vote because of an continuing civil war. A Phased Ballot Amid War The ruling junta is holding a phased ballot nearly half a decade after it took control in a takeover, which ignited widespread opposition and escalated into a devastating conflict. Observers say the junta, with backing from Beijing, is attempting to validate and entrench its power as it seeks a way out of the devastating deadlock. "There are no conditions for the practice of the rights of free speech, association or peaceful assembly," the United Nations' top human rights official Volker Türk stated. Over two hundred people have been charged for interfering with or criticising the polls under a recently enacted legislation which imposes severe punishments, including the death penalty. Director Mike Tee, actor Kyaw Win Htut and comedian Ohn Daing were among the well-known individuals 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 endorsing the elections. Immense Challenges and Coercion Civilians are "facing pressure from all sides," Mr Türk said in a comment, adding that armed rebel groups have made warnings urging people to boycott the polls. The military has been fighting 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 vast areas of the country in a series of major setbacks, but clawed back territory this year following sustained aerial bombardment made possible through support from Beijing and Moscow. All of this and the fact that significant regions of the country are still under rebel administration presents a huge operational hurdle for holding an election. A Limited Vote Voting is set to take place in three rounds over the next month in 274 of the country's 330 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 hold elections, making it difficult to predict a possible turnout. Six parties, including the military-backed Union Solidarity and Development Party, are running nominees 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 landslide victories in 2015 and 2020, have been banned. Suu Kyi and many of the party's senior figures have been imprisoned under charges widely condemned as fabricated, while others are in exile. Criticism and Rejection "Through dividing the vote into stages, the authorities can adjust tactics if the outcomes in the initial round do not go their way," commented Htin Kyaw Aye, a spokesman of the watchdog group Spring Sprouts. Nations in the West, including the United Kingdom and the EU legislature, have dismissed the vote as a pretence, while regional bloc Asean has called for negotiations to precede any election. The Myanmar regime has rejected condemnation of the polls, insisting that it aims to "restore a democracy with multiple parties". "The election is being held for our nation. It is being held for the citizens of Myanmar. It is not intended for the international community," a junta spokesman stated at a news conference 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".
Myanmar's military is conducting a staggered vote over the coming weeks. Myanmar is going to the polls in a electoral process widely dismissed as a farce, with key opposition groups dissolved, many of their leaders jailed and as much as half of the country unlikely to vote because of an continuing civil war. A Phased Ballot Amid War The ruling junta is holding a phased ballot nearly half a decade after it took control in a takeover, which ignited widespread opposition and escalated into a devastating conflict. Observers say the junta, with backing from Beijing, is attempting to validate and entrench its power as it seeks a way out of the devastating deadlock. "There are no conditions for the practice of the rights of free speech, association or peaceful assembly," the United Nations' top human rights official Volker Türk stated. Over two hundred people have been charged for interfering with or criticising the polls under a recently enacted legislation which imposes severe punishments, including the death penalty. Director Mike Tee, actor Kyaw Win Htut and comedian Ohn Daing were among the well-known individuals 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 endorsing the elections. Immense Challenges and Coercion Civilians are "facing pressure from all sides," Mr Türk said in a comment, adding that armed rebel groups have made warnings urging people to boycott the polls. The military has been fighting 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 vast areas of the country in a series of major setbacks, but clawed back territory this year following sustained aerial bombardment made possible through support from Beijing and Moscow. All of this and the fact that significant regions of the country are still under rebel administration presents a huge operational hurdle for holding an election. A Limited Vote Voting is set to take place in three rounds over the next month in 274 of the country's 330 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 hold elections, making it difficult to predict a possible turnout. Six parties, including the military-backed Union Solidarity and Development Party, are running nominees 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 landslide victories in 2015 and 2020, have been banned. Suu Kyi and many of the party's senior figures have been imprisoned under charges widely condemned as fabricated, while others are in exile. Criticism and Rejection "Through dividing the vote into stages, the authorities can adjust tactics if the outcomes in the initial round do not go their way," commented Htin Kyaw Aye, a spokesman of the watchdog group Spring Sprouts. Nations in the West, including the United Kingdom and the EU legislature, have dismissed the vote as a pretence, while regional bloc Asean has called for negotiations to precede any election. The Myanmar regime has rejected condemnation of the polls, insisting that it aims to "restore a democracy with multiple parties". "The election is being held for our nation. It is being held for the citizens of Myanmar. It is not intended for the international community," a junta spokesman stated at a news conference 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".