🔗 Share this article Conflict-ravaged Burma Votes in Widely Criticised Political Theater. Myanmar's junta is holding a phased vote over the coming weeks. The nation is holding an election in a electoral process widely dismissed as a farce, with key opposition groups dissolved, many of their leaders imprisoned and a significant portion of the country unable to participate because of an continuing civil war. A Staggered Vote Amid War The ruling junta is conducting a staggered election nearly half a decade after it seized power in a takeover, which sparked widespread opposition and escalated into a devastating conflict. Observers say the junta, with backing from Beijing, is seeking to legitimise and consolidate its power as it seeks a way out of the costly deadlock. "There are no conditions for the exercise of the rights of free speech, assembly or peaceful protest," UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk stated. Over two hundred people have been charged for interfering with or opposing the election under a new law which carries harsh penalties, including the death penalty. Film 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 handed a seven-year jail term after criticising a film endorsing the elections. Logistical Nightmare and Pressure Civilians are "being coerced from all sides," Mr Türk said in a comment, pointing out that armed rebel groups have made warnings urging people to shun the polls. The army has been engaged on several fronts, against both armed resistance groups who reject the coup, as well as ethnic armed organisations which have their own forces. It ceded territory of large parts of the country in a series of major setbacks, but clawed back territory this year following relentless airstrikes enabled by support from China and Russia. All of this and the fact that large parts of the country are still under opposition control presents a massive 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 remainder deemed too unstable. 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, some districts will go to the polls, making it challenging to forecast a likely turnout. Six parties, including the military-backed Union Solidarity and Development Party, are fielding candidates nationwide, while another 51 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 landslide victories in 2015 and 2020, have been dissolved. Suu Kyi and many of the party's senior figures have been imprisoned under charges widely condemned as politically motivated, while others are in hiding abroad. Criticism and Rejection "Through dividing the vote into phases, the junta can adjust tactics if the outcomes in the initial round do not go their way," noted Htin Kyaw Aye, a spokesman of the election-monitoring group Spring Sprouts. Nations in the West, including the United Kingdom and the EU legislature, have dismissed the vote as a sham, while neighbouring group Asean has urged negotiations to come before any election. The Burmese junta has dismissed condemnation of the polls, maintaining that it aims to "restore a democracy with multiple parties". "The election is being held for our nation. It is being held for the people of Myanmar. It is not being held for the international community," a military representative stated at a briefing last week. Military leader Min Aung Hlaing cautioned earlier this week that those who choose not to participate are rejecting "progress toward democracy".
Myanmar's junta is holding a phased vote over the coming weeks. The nation is holding an election in a electoral process widely dismissed as a farce, with key opposition groups dissolved, many of their leaders imprisoned and a significant portion of the country unable to participate because of an continuing civil war. A Staggered Vote Amid War The ruling junta is conducting a staggered election nearly half a decade after it seized power in a takeover, which sparked widespread opposition and escalated into a devastating conflict. Observers say the junta, with backing from Beijing, is seeking to legitimise and consolidate its power as it seeks a way out of the costly deadlock. "There are no conditions for the exercise of the rights of free speech, assembly or peaceful protest," UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk stated. Over two hundred people have been charged for interfering with or opposing the election under a new law which carries harsh penalties, including the death penalty. Film 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 handed a seven-year jail term after criticising a film endorsing the elections. Logistical Nightmare and Pressure Civilians are "being coerced from all sides," Mr Türk said in a comment, pointing out that armed rebel groups have made warnings urging people to shun the polls. The army has been engaged on several fronts, against both armed resistance groups who reject the coup, as well as ethnic armed organisations which have their own forces. It ceded territory of large parts of the country in a series of major setbacks, but clawed back territory this year following relentless airstrikes enabled by support from China and Russia. All of this and the fact that large parts of the country are still under opposition control presents a massive 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 remainder deemed too unstable. 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, some districts will go to the polls, making it challenging to forecast a likely turnout. Six parties, including the military-backed Union Solidarity and Development Party, are fielding candidates nationwide, while another 51 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 landslide victories in 2015 and 2020, have been dissolved. Suu Kyi and many of the party's senior figures have been imprisoned under charges widely condemned as politically motivated, while others are in hiding abroad. Criticism and Rejection "Through dividing the vote into phases, the junta can adjust tactics if the outcomes in the initial round do not go their way," noted Htin Kyaw Aye, a spokesman of the election-monitoring group Spring Sprouts. Nations in the West, including the United Kingdom and the EU legislature, have dismissed the vote as a sham, while neighbouring group Asean has urged negotiations to come before any election. The Burmese junta has dismissed condemnation of the polls, maintaining that it aims to "restore a democracy with multiple parties". "The election is being held for our nation. It is being held for the people of Myanmar. It is not being held for the international community," a military representative stated at a briefing last week. Military leader Min Aung Hlaing cautioned earlier this week that those who choose not to participate are rejecting "progress toward democracy".