🔗 Share this article War-torn Myanmar Goes to the Polls in Broadly Condemned 'Sham' Election. Myanmar's junta is conducting a staggered vote over the next month. Myanmar is going to the polls in a vote widely dismissed as a farce, with key opposition groups banned, many of their leaders imprisoned and as much as half of the country unlikely to vote because of an continuing internal conflict. A Phased Ballot Amid Conflict The military government is holding a phased ballot nearly five years after it seized power in a takeover, which sparked widespread opposition and spiralled into a civil war. Observers say the junta, with backing from Beijing, is seeking to legitimise and consolidate its power as it looks for a way out of the costly deadlock. "The environment does not allow for the practice of the rights of free speech, association or peaceful protest," UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk stated. Over two hundred people have been prosecuted for interfering with or criticising the polls under a new law which carries harsh penalties, including the death penalty. Film director Mike Tee, performer Kyaw Win Htut and entertainer Ohn Daing were among the well-known individuals found guilty under the law, which was enacted in July. They were each handed a prison sentence of seven years after criticising a film promoting the elections. Logistical Nightmare and Pressure Civilians are "facing pressure from all sides," Mr Türk said in a comment, pointing out that armed rebel groups have issued their own threats urging people to shun the polls. The army has been fighting on multiple battlefields, against both pro-democracy fighters who oppose the coup, as well as ethnic armies which have their own forces. 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 Beijing and Moscow. All of this and the fact that significant regions of the country are still under opposition control presents a huge logistical challenge for holding an election. A Restricted Poll Voting 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, not all constituencies will hold elections, making it challenging to forecast a possible turnout. A handful of parties, including the junta-supported Union Solidarity and Development Party, are running nominees 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 scored decisive wins in 2015 and 2020, have been banned. Suu Kyi and a number of the party's senior figures have been jailed under charges widely condemned as politically motivated, while others are in exile. International Condemnation "Through dividing the vote into phases, the authorities can adjust tactics if the results in the first phase do not go their way," commented Htin Kyaw Aye, a spokesman of the watchdog group Spring Sprouts. Nations in the West, including the United Kingdom and the European Parliament, have rejected the vote as a sham, while regional bloc Asean has called for negotiations to come before any election. The Myanmar regime has rejected criticism of the polls, maintaining that it aims to "return [the country] to a democracy with multiple parties". "This vote 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".
Myanmar's junta is conducting a staggered vote over the next month. Myanmar is going to the polls in a vote widely dismissed as a farce, with key opposition groups banned, many of their leaders imprisoned and as much as half of the country unlikely to vote because of an continuing internal conflict. A Phased Ballot Amid Conflict The military government is holding a phased ballot nearly five years after it seized power in a takeover, which sparked widespread opposition and spiralled into a civil war. Observers say the junta, with backing from Beijing, is seeking to legitimise and consolidate its power as it looks for a way out of the costly deadlock. "The environment does not allow for the practice of the rights of free speech, association or peaceful protest," UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk stated. Over two hundred people have been prosecuted for interfering with or criticising the polls under a new law which carries harsh penalties, including the death penalty. Film director Mike Tee, performer Kyaw Win Htut and entertainer Ohn Daing were among the well-known individuals found guilty under the law, which was enacted in July. They were each handed a prison sentence of seven years after criticising a film promoting the elections. Logistical Nightmare and Pressure Civilians are "facing pressure from all sides," Mr Türk said in a comment, pointing out that armed rebel groups have issued their own threats urging people to shun the polls. The army has been fighting on multiple battlefields, against both pro-democracy fighters who oppose the coup, as well as ethnic armies which have their own forces. 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 Beijing and Moscow. All of this and the fact that significant regions of the country are still under opposition control presents a huge logistical challenge for holding an election. A Restricted Poll Voting 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, not all constituencies will hold elections, making it challenging to forecast a possible turnout. A handful of parties, including the junta-supported Union Solidarity and Development Party, are running nominees 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 scored decisive wins in 2015 and 2020, have been banned. Suu Kyi and a number of the party's senior figures have been jailed under charges widely condemned as politically motivated, while others are in exile. International Condemnation "Through dividing the vote into phases, the authorities can adjust tactics if the results in the first phase do not go their way," commented Htin Kyaw Aye, a spokesman of the watchdog group Spring Sprouts. Nations in the West, including the United Kingdom and the European Parliament, have rejected the vote as a sham, while regional bloc Asean has called for negotiations to come before any election. The Myanmar regime has rejected criticism of the polls, maintaining that it aims to "return [the country] to a democracy with multiple parties". "This vote 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".