🔗 Share this article Conflict-ravaged Myanmar Goes to the Polls in Broadly Condemned 'Sham' Election. Myanmar's junta is conducting a phased election over the next month. Myanmar is going to the polls in a vote broadly rejected as a sham, with key opposition groups banned, numerous figures imprisoned and a significant portion of the country unable to participate because of an ongoing internal conflict. A Staggered Vote Amid Conflict The military government is holding a phased ballot nearly five years after it took control in a coup, which ignited massive protests and spiralled into a devastating conflict. Analysts note the junta, with backing from Beijing, is seeking to legitimise and consolidate its power as it looks for a way out of the devastating deadlock. "There are no conditions for the practice of the rights of freedom of expression, assembly or peaceful protest," the United Nations' top human rights official Volker Türk said. Over two hundred people have been prosecuted for interfering with or criticising the polls under a recently enacted legislation which carries severe punishments, including the possibility of execution. Director Mike Tee, performer Kyaw Win Htut and entertainer Ohn Daing were among the prominent figures found guilty under the law, which was enacted in July. They were each handed a seven-year jail term after criticising a film promoting the elections. Logistical Nightmare and Pressure Civilians are "being coerced from all sides," Mr Türk 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 multiple battlefields, against both armed resistance groups who reject the coup, as well as ethnic armies which have their own militias. It ceded territory of vast areas of the country in a series of major setbacks, but regained territory this year after relentless airstrikes enabled by support from China and Russia. All of this and the fact that significant regions of the country are still under opposition control presents a huge logistical challenge for conducting an election. A Restricted Poll The ballot is set to take place in three rounds over the next month 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 not expected to be any voting in up to fifty percent of the country. Even in the townships that are voting, some districts will go to the polls, making it difficult to forecast a possible turnout. Six parties, including the military-backed Union Solidarity and Development Party, are fielding candidates nationwide, while another 51 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 achieved landslide victories in 2015 and 2020, have been banned. Suu Kyi and many of the party's key leaders have been jailed under charges widely condemned as fabricated, while the rest are in hiding abroad. International Condemnation "Through dividing 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 European Parliament, have rejected the vote as a pretence, while neighbouring group Asean has urged negotiations to come before any election. The Burmese junta has dismissed criticism of the polls, maintaining that it aims to "restore a democracy with multiple parties". "This vote is being held for our nation. It is being held for the people of this country. It is not intended for the outside world," a junta spokesman told a briefing last week. Junta chief Min Aung Hlaing warned earlier this week that those who choose not to participate are turning their back on "the path to democracy".
Myanmar's junta is conducting a phased election over the next month. Myanmar is going to the polls in a vote broadly rejected as a sham, with key opposition groups banned, numerous figures imprisoned and a significant portion of the country unable to participate because of an ongoing internal conflict. A Staggered Vote Amid Conflict The military government is holding a phased ballot nearly five years after it took control in a coup, which ignited massive protests and spiralled into a devastating conflict. Analysts note the junta, with backing from Beijing, is seeking to legitimise and consolidate its power as it looks for a way out of the devastating deadlock. "There are no conditions for the practice of the rights of freedom of expression, assembly or peaceful protest," the United Nations' top human rights official Volker Türk said. Over two hundred people have been prosecuted for interfering with or criticising the polls under a recently enacted legislation which carries severe punishments, including the possibility of execution. Director Mike Tee, performer Kyaw Win Htut and entertainer Ohn Daing were among the prominent figures found guilty under the law, which was enacted in July. They were each handed a seven-year jail term after criticising a film promoting the elections. Logistical Nightmare and Pressure Civilians are "being coerced from all sides," Mr Türk 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 multiple battlefields, against both armed resistance groups who reject the coup, as well as ethnic armies which have their own militias. It ceded territory of vast areas of the country in a series of major setbacks, but regained territory this year after relentless airstrikes enabled by support from China and Russia. All of this and the fact that significant regions of the country are still under opposition control presents a huge logistical challenge for conducting an election. A Restricted Poll The ballot is set to take place in three rounds over the next month 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 not expected to be any voting in up to fifty percent of the country. Even in the townships that are voting, some districts will go to the polls, making it difficult to forecast a possible turnout. Six parties, including the military-backed Union Solidarity and Development Party, are fielding candidates nationwide, while another 51 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 achieved landslide victories in 2015 and 2020, have been banned. Suu Kyi and many of the party's key leaders have been jailed under charges widely condemned as fabricated, while the rest are in hiding abroad. International Condemnation "Through dividing 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 European Parliament, have rejected the vote as a pretence, while neighbouring group Asean has urged negotiations to come before any election. The Burmese junta has dismissed criticism of the polls, maintaining that it aims to "restore a democracy with multiple parties". "This vote is being held for our nation. It is being held for the people of this country. It is not intended for the outside world," a junta spokesman told a briefing last week. Junta chief Min Aung Hlaing warned earlier this week that those who choose not to participate are turning their back on "the path to democracy".