🔗 Share this article War-torn Myanmar Goes to the Polls in Widely Criticised Political Theater. The country's junta is holding a phased election over the next month. Myanmar is going to the polls in a electoral process widely dismissed as a sham, with key opposition groups dissolved, many of their leaders jailed and a significant portion of the country unable to participate because of an ongoing civil war. A Staggered Vote Amid Conflict The ruling junta is holding a staggered election nearly half a decade after it took control in a takeover, which sparked massive protests and escalated into a civil war. Analysts note the military regime, with backing from Beijing, is attempting to validate and consolidate 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 freedom of expression, association or peaceful protest," the United Nations' top human rights official Volker Türk said. Over two hundred people have been prosecuted for interfering with or opposing the election under a new law which imposes severe punishments, including the possibility of execution. Director Mike Tee, actor Kyaw Win Htut and comedian Ohn Daing were among the prominent figures convicted under the law, which was enacted in July. They were each given a prison sentence of seven years after criticising a promotional video promoting the elections. Logistical Nightmare and Pressure Civilians are "being coerced from all sides," Mr Türk said in a statement, adding that resistance forces have issued their own threats urging people to shun the polls. The military has been engaged on multiple battlefields, against both pro-democracy fighters 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 clawed back territory this year following sustained aerial bombardment enabled by support from China and Russia. All of this and the fact that significant regions 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 two hundred and seventy-four of the country's 330 townships, with the rest deemed not secure enough. Outcomes are expected by late January. There is unlikely to be any voting in up to fifty percent of the country. Even in the townships that are voting, some districts will hold elections, making it challenging to forecast a possible turnout. Six parties, including the junta-supported Union Solidarity and Development Party, are running nominees nationwide, while dozens more parties and independent candidates will compete 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 many of the party's key leaders have been jailed under charges widely condemned as politically motivated, while the rest are in hiding abroad. Criticism and Rejection "By splitting the vote into stages, the junta can change their approach if the results in the initial round do not go their way," commented Htin Kyaw Aye, a spokesman of the election-monitoring group Spring Sprouts. Western governments, including the UK and the EU legislature, have dismissed the vote as a pretence, while neighbouring group Asean has urged political dialogue to come before any election. The Myanmar regime has dismissed criticism of the polls, insisting that it aims to "restore a democracy with multiple parties". "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 military representative stated at a news conference last week. Junta chief Min Aung Hlaing cautioned earlier this week that those who refuse to vote are turning their back on "progress toward democracy".
The country's junta is holding a phased election over the next month. Myanmar is going to the polls in a electoral process widely dismissed as a sham, with key opposition groups dissolved, many of their leaders jailed and a significant portion of the country unable to participate because of an ongoing civil war. A Staggered Vote Amid Conflict The ruling junta is holding a staggered election nearly half a decade after it took control in a takeover, which sparked massive protests and escalated into a civil war. Analysts note the military regime, with backing from Beijing, is attempting to validate and consolidate 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 freedom of expression, association or peaceful protest," the United Nations' top human rights official Volker Türk said. Over two hundred people have been prosecuted for interfering with or opposing the election under a new law which imposes severe punishments, including the possibility of execution. Director Mike Tee, actor Kyaw Win Htut and comedian Ohn Daing were among the prominent figures convicted under the law, which was enacted in July. They were each given a prison sentence of seven years after criticising a promotional video promoting the elections. Logistical Nightmare and Pressure Civilians are "being coerced from all sides," Mr Türk said in a statement, adding that resistance forces have issued their own threats urging people to shun the polls. The military has been engaged on multiple battlefields, against both pro-democracy fighters 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 clawed back territory this year following sustained aerial bombardment enabled by support from China and Russia. All of this and the fact that significant regions 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 two hundred and seventy-four of the country's 330 townships, with the rest deemed not secure enough. Outcomes are expected by late January. There is unlikely to be any voting in up to fifty percent of the country. Even in the townships that are voting, some districts will hold elections, making it challenging to forecast a possible turnout. Six parties, including the junta-supported Union Solidarity and Development Party, are running nominees nationwide, while dozens more parties and independent candidates will compete 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 many of the party's key leaders have been jailed under charges widely condemned as politically motivated, while the rest are in hiding abroad. Criticism and Rejection "By splitting the vote into stages, the junta can change their approach if the results in the initial round do not go their way," commented Htin Kyaw Aye, a spokesman of the election-monitoring group Spring Sprouts. Western governments, including the UK and the EU legislature, have dismissed the vote as a pretence, while neighbouring group Asean has urged political dialogue to come before any election. The Myanmar regime has dismissed criticism of the polls, insisting that it aims to "restore a democracy with multiple parties". "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 military representative stated at a news conference last week. Junta chief Min Aung Hlaing cautioned earlier this week that those who refuse to vote are turning their back on "progress toward democracy".