War-torn Burma Goes to the Polls in Widely Criticised 'Sham' Election.

Myanmar is going to the polls in a vote widely dismissed as a farce, with key opposition groups dissolved, many of their leaders imprisoned and as much as half of the country unable to participate because of an ongoing civil war.

A Phased Ballot Amid Conflict

The military government is conducting a staggered election nearly five years after it took control in a coup, which sparked massive protests and escalated into a civil war.

Observers say the military regime, with backing from Beijing, is attempting to validate and consolidate its power as it looks for a way out of the costly deadlock.

"There are no conditions for the practice of the freedoms of free speech, assembly or peaceful protest," the United Nations' top human rights official Volker Türk stated.

More than 200 people have been charged for interfering with or opposing the election under a recently enacted legislation which imposes harsh penalties, including the possibility of execution.

Film director Mike Tee, actor Kyaw Win Htut and entertainer 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.

Logistical Nightmare and Coercion

Civilians are "facing pressure from all sides," Mr Türk noted in a comment, adding that resistance forces have issued their own threats asking people to shun the polls.

The army 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 forces. It lost control of large parts of the country in a series of major setbacks, but clawed back territory this year following relentless airstrikes made possible through support from Beijing and Moscow.

All of this and the fact that large parts of the country are still under opposition control presents a huge logistical challenge for conducting an election.

A Limited Vote

Voting is set to take place in three rounds over the coming weeks in 274 of the country's 330 townships, with the remainder deemed not secure enough. Results 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, not all constituencies will go to the polls, making it difficult to predict a likely turnout.

A handful of 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 decisive wins in 2015 and 2020, have been dissolved. Suu Kyi and a number of the party's senior figures have been jailed under charges broadly viewed as fabricated, while others are in exile.

Criticism and Rejection

"Through dividing the vote into phases, the junta can change their approach if the outcomes in the first phase do not go their way," commented Htin Kyaw Aye, a representative of the watchdog group Spring Sprouts.

Nations in the West, including the United Kingdom and the European Parliament, have rejected the vote as a pretence, while neighbouring group Asean has urged political dialogue to come before any election.

The Myanmar regime has dismissed condemnation of the polls, maintaining that it aims to "return [the country] to a multi-party democratic system".

"The election is being held for Myanmar. It is being held for the citizens of Myanmar. It is not intended for the outside world," a junta spokesman stated at a news conference 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".