🔗 Share this article Conflict-ravaged Myanmar Votes in Broadly Condemned Political Theater. Myanmar's military is holding a phased election over the next month. The nation is holding an election in a electoral process widely dismissed as a farce, with key opposition groups dissolved, numerous figures jailed and a significant portion of the country unlikely to vote because of an continuing civil war. A Phased Ballot Amid Conflict The military government is holding a staggered election nearly five years after it took control in a takeover, which sparked massive protests and escalated into a devastating conflict. Analysts note the military regime, with China's support, is seeking to legitimise and entrench its power as it looks for a way out of the costly stalemate. "The environment does not allow for the exercise of the freedoms of free speech, association or peaceful assembly," UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk stated. More than 200 people have been prosecuted for disrupting or opposing the polls under a recently enacted legislation which imposes severe punishments, including the possibility of execution. Film director Mike Tee, performer Kyaw Win Htut and comedian Ohn Daing were among the well-known individuals found guilty under the law, which was passed in July. They were each handed a seven-year jail term after speaking out against a film endorsing the elections. Logistical Nightmare and Coercion 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 shun the polls. The army has been fighting on several fronts, against both pro-democracy fighters who reject the coup, as well as ethnic armies which have their own forces. It lost control of vast areas of the country in a string of defeats, but regained territory this year after sustained aerial bombardment made possible through support from Beijing and Moscow. All of this and the fact that large parts of the country are still under rebel administration presents a huge logistical challenge for holding an election. A Restricted Poll 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 around the end of January. There is not expected to be any voting in as much as one half of the country. Even in the townships that are voting, not all constituencies will hold elections, making it difficult to forecast a likely turnout. Six parties, including the military-backed 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 scored landslide victories in 2015 and 2020, have been dissolved. Suu Kyi and a number of the party's key leaders have been imprisoned under charges broadly viewed as politically motivated, while others are in exile. International Condemnation "Through dividing the vote into stages, the junta can adjust tactics if the results in the first phase 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 European Parliament, have dismissed the vote as a pretence, while regional bloc Asean has urged negotiations to precede any election. The Burmese junta has rejected condemnation of the polls, maintaining that it aims to "restore a democracy with multiple parties". "This vote 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 junta spokesman stated at a briefing last week. Military leader Min Aung Hlaing warned earlier this week that those who choose not to participate are rejecting "progress toward democracy".
Myanmar's military is holding a phased election over the next month. The nation is holding an election in a electoral process widely dismissed as a farce, with key opposition groups dissolved, numerous figures jailed and a significant portion of the country unlikely to vote because of an continuing civil war. A Phased Ballot Amid Conflict The military government is holding a staggered election nearly five years after it took control in a takeover, which sparked massive protests and escalated into a devastating conflict. Analysts note the military regime, with China's support, is seeking to legitimise and entrench its power as it looks for a way out of the costly stalemate. "The environment does not allow for the exercise of the freedoms of free speech, association or peaceful assembly," UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk stated. More than 200 people have been prosecuted for disrupting or opposing the polls under a recently enacted legislation which imposes severe punishments, including the possibility of execution. Film director Mike Tee, performer Kyaw Win Htut and comedian Ohn Daing were among the well-known individuals found guilty under the law, which was passed in July. They were each handed a seven-year jail term after speaking out against a film endorsing the elections. Logistical Nightmare and Coercion 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 shun the polls. The army has been fighting on several fronts, against both pro-democracy fighters who reject the coup, as well as ethnic armies which have their own forces. It lost control of vast areas of the country in a string of defeats, but regained territory this year after sustained aerial bombardment made possible through support from Beijing and Moscow. All of this and the fact that large parts of the country are still under rebel administration presents a huge logistical challenge for holding an election. A Restricted Poll 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 around the end of January. There is not expected to be any voting in as much as one half of the country. Even in the townships that are voting, not all constituencies will hold elections, making it difficult to forecast a likely turnout. Six parties, including the military-backed 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 scored landslide victories in 2015 and 2020, have been dissolved. Suu Kyi and a number of the party's key leaders have been imprisoned under charges broadly viewed as politically motivated, while others are in exile. International Condemnation "Through dividing the vote into stages, the junta can adjust tactics if the results in the first phase 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 European Parliament, have dismissed the vote as a pretence, while regional bloc Asean has urged negotiations to precede any election. The Burmese junta has rejected condemnation of the polls, maintaining that it aims to "restore a democracy with multiple parties". "This vote 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 junta spokesman stated at a briefing last week. Military leader Min Aung Hlaing warned earlier this week that those who choose not to participate are rejecting "progress toward democracy".