🔗 Share this article Conflict-ravaged Burma Goes to the Polls in Broadly Condemned Political Theater. Myanmar's junta is holding a phased vote over the next month. Myanmar is going to the polls in a vote broadly rejected as a sham, with major political parties banned, numerous figures imprisoned and as much as half of the country unlikely to vote because of an ongoing internal conflict. A Staggered Vote Amid Conflict The ruling junta is conducting a phased ballot nearly half a decade 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 entrench its power as it looks for a way out of the costly deadlock. "The environment does not allow for the exercise of the rights of free speech, association or peaceful protest," UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk said. Over two hundred people have been prosecuted for interfering with or opposing the polls under a new law which imposes severe punishments, including the death penalty. Film director Mike Tee, actor Kyaw Win Htut and entertainer Ohn Daing were among the prominent figures found guilty under the law, which was passed in July. They were each given a seven-year jail term after criticising a promotional video endorsing the elections. Logistical Nightmare and Pressure Civilians are "facing pressure from all sides," Mr Türk noted in a statement, adding that resistance forces have issued their own threats asking people to boycott the polls. The military has been fighting on several fronts, against both armed resistance groups who oppose the coup, as well as ethnic armed organisations which have their own militias. It ceded territory of large parts of the country in a string of defeats, but clawed back territory this year following sustained aerial bombardment 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 huge logistical challenge for holding 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 rest deemed too unstable. Results are expected around the end of 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 difficult 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 independent candidates will contest only at the local levels. Some 40 parties, including Aung San Suu Kyi's National League of Democracy, which scored decisive wins in 2015 and 2020, have been dissolved. Suu Kyi and a number of the party's key leaders have been jailed under charges widely condemned as fabricated, while others are in exile. International Condemnation "Through dividing the vote into stages, the junta can change their approach if the results in the first phase do not go their way," noted Htin Kyaw Aye, a spokesman of the watchdog group Spring Sprouts. Nations in the West, including the UK and the European Parliament, have rejected the vote as a sham, while neighbouring group Asean has called for negotiations to come before any election. The Burmese junta has dismissed criticism of the polls, insisting that it aims to "return [the country] to a democracy with multiple parties". "The election 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 refuse to vote are turning their back on "the path to democracy".
Myanmar's junta is holding a phased vote over the next month. Myanmar is going to the polls in a vote broadly rejected as a sham, with major political parties banned, numerous figures imprisoned and as much as half of the country unlikely to vote because of an ongoing internal conflict. A Staggered Vote Amid Conflict The ruling junta is conducting a phased ballot nearly half a decade 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 entrench its power as it looks for a way out of the costly deadlock. "The environment does not allow for the exercise of the rights of free speech, association or peaceful protest," UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk said. Over two hundred people have been prosecuted for interfering with or opposing the polls under a new law which imposes severe punishments, including the death penalty. Film director Mike Tee, actor Kyaw Win Htut and entertainer Ohn Daing were among the prominent figures found guilty under the law, which was passed in July. They were each given a seven-year jail term after criticising a promotional video endorsing the elections. Logistical Nightmare and Pressure Civilians are "facing pressure from all sides," Mr Türk noted in a statement, adding that resistance forces have issued their own threats asking people to boycott the polls. The military has been fighting on several fronts, against both armed resistance groups who oppose the coup, as well as ethnic armed organisations which have their own militias. It ceded territory of large parts of the country in a string of defeats, but clawed back territory this year following sustained aerial bombardment 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 huge logistical challenge for holding 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 rest deemed too unstable. Results are expected around the end of 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 difficult 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 independent candidates will contest only at the local levels. Some 40 parties, including Aung San Suu Kyi's National League of Democracy, which scored decisive wins in 2015 and 2020, have been dissolved. Suu Kyi and a number of the party's key leaders have been jailed under charges widely condemned as fabricated, while others are in exile. International Condemnation "Through dividing the vote into stages, the junta can change their approach if the results in the first phase do not go their way," noted Htin Kyaw Aye, a spokesman of the watchdog group Spring Sprouts. Nations in the West, including the UK and the European Parliament, have rejected the vote as a sham, while neighbouring group Asean has called for negotiations to come before any election. The Burmese junta has dismissed criticism of the polls, insisting that it aims to "return [the country] to a democracy with multiple parties". "The election 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 refuse to vote are turning their back on "the path to democracy".