War-torn Myanmar Votes in Broadly Condemned Political Theater.
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 continuing internal conflict.
A Staggered Vote Amid Conflict
The military government is conducting a staggered election nearly half a decade after it took control in a coup, which sparked widespread opposition and escalated into a civil war.
Analysts note the junta, with China's support, is attempting to validate and consolidate its power as it looks for a way out of the devastating deadlock.
"The environment does not allow for the practice of the rights of freedom of expression, assembly or peaceful assembly," the United Nations' top human rights official Volker Türk said.
More than 200 people have been prosecuted for interfering with or opposing the polls under a new law which carries severe punishments, including the possibility of execution.
Director Mike Tee, actor 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 prison sentence of seven years after speaking out against 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 military has been fighting 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 regained 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 rebel administration presents a huge operational hurdle for holding an election.
A Limited Vote
The ballot is set to take place in three rounds over the next month in 274 of the country's 330 townships, with the rest deemed not secure enough. 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, some districts 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 non-aligned contenders will contest only at the local levels.
Approximately forty groups, including Aung San Suu Kyi's National League of Democracy, which achieved decisive wins in 2015 and 2020, have been banned. Suu Kyi and many of the party's key leaders have been jailed under charges broadly viewed as fabricated, while others are in hiding abroad.
Criticism and Rejection
"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.
Nations in the West, including the UK and the European Parliament, have dismissed the vote as a pretence, 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 multi-party democratic system".
"The election is being held for our nation. It is being held for the people 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 rejecting "the path to democracy".
