Conflict-ravaged Burma Votes in Widely Criticised Political Theater.
The nation is holding an election in a vote widely dismissed as a farce, with key opposition groups dissolved, numerous figures imprisoned and as much as half of the country unlikely to vote because of an continuing internal conflict.
A Phased Ballot Amid War
The military government is holding a staggered election nearly five years after it seized power in a takeover, which ignited massive protests and escalated into a devastating conflict.
Analysts note the junta, with backing from Beijing, is seeking to legitimise and consolidate its power as it seeks a way out of the devastating stalemate.
"There are no conditions for the exercise of the freedoms of freedom of expression, assembly or peaceful protest," UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk said.
Over two hundred people have been prosecuted for interfering with or criticising the polls under a recently enacted legislation which carries severe punishments, including the death penalty.
Film director Mike Tee, performer 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 handed a seven-year jail term after speaking out against a promotional video endorsing the elections.
Immense Challenges and Pressure
Civilians are "being coerced from all sides," Mr Türk noted in a comment, adding 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 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 relentless airstrikes 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 logistical challenge for conducting an election.
A Restricted Poll
The ballot is set to take place in three phases over the coming weeks in 274 of the country's 330 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, some districts will hold elections, making it difficult to predict a likely turnout.
A handful of 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 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 a number of the party's key leaders have been jailed under charges broadly viewed as politically motivated, while others are in hiding abroad.
International Condemnation
"By splitting the vote into phases, the authorities can adjust tactics if the results in the initial round do not go their way," commented Htin Kyaw Aye, a representative of the election-monitoring group Spring Sprouts.
Western governments, including the United Kingdom and the EU legislature, have rejected the vote as a pretence, while regional bloc Asean has called for political dialogue to precede any election.
The Burmese junta has rejected criticism of the polls, maintaining that it aims to "restore a democracy with multiple parties".
"This vote is being held for Myanmar. It is being held for the people of this country. It is not being held for the international community," a junta spokesman told a news conference last week.
Military leader Min Aung Hlaing cautioned earlier this week that those who choose not to participate are turning their back on "progress toward democracy".
