🔗 Share this article Conflict-ravaged Myanmar Votes in Widely Criticised 'Sham' Election. Myanmar's junta 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 banned, numerous figures imprisoned and as much as half of the country unlikely to vote because of an ongoing internal conflict. A Staggered Vote Amid War The military government is conducting a phased ballot nearly half a decade after it took control in a takeover, which ignited widespread opposition and spiralled into a devastating conflict. Observers say 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 deadlock. "There are no conditions for the practice of the rights of free speech, association or peaceful protest," the United Nations' top human rights official Volker Türk said. Over two hundred people have been charged for disrupting or opposing the election under a new law which imposes severe punishments, including the death penalty. Director Mike Tee, actor Kyaw Win Htut and comedian Ohn Daing were among the prominent figures found guilty under the law, which was passed in July. They were each given a seven-year jail term after criticising a promotional video endorsing the elections. Immense Challenges and Pressure Civilians are "facing pressure from all sides," Mr Türk said in a comment, adding that resistance forces have issued their own threats urging people to boycott the polls. The military has been engaged on multiple battlefields, against both pro-democracy fighters who oppose the coup, as well as ethnic armies which have their own militias. 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 massive logistical challenge for conducting an election. A Restricted Poll Voting is set to take place in three phases 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 as much as one half of the country. Even in the townships that are voting, some districts will hold elections, making it challenging to predict a likely 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. Some 40 parties, including Aung San Suu Kyi's National League of Democracy, which achieved landslide victories in 2015 and 2020, have been banned. Suu Kyi and many of the party's key leaders have been jailed under charges widely condemned as politically motivated, while others are in hiding abroad. International Condemnation "By splitting the vote into stages, the authorities can change their approach if the results in the first phase do not go their way," commented Htin Kyaw Aye, a representative of the watchdog group Spring Sprouts. Nations in the West, including the United Kingdom and the EU legislature, have dismissed the vote as a sham, while regional bloc Asean has urged political dialogue to precede any election. The Myanmar regime has rejected condemnation of the polls, maintaining that it aims to "restore a democracy with multiple parties". "The election is being held for Myanmar. It is being held for the citizens of Myanmar. It is not intended for the international community," a junta spokesman told a news conference last week. Junta chief Min Aung Hlaing warned earlier this week that those who choose not to participate are turning their back on "the path to democracy".
Myanmar's junta 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 banned, numerous figures imprisoned and as much as half of the country unlikely to vote because of an ongoing internal conflict. A Staggered Vote Amid War The military government is conducting a phased ballot nearly half a decade after it took control in a takeover, which ignited widespread opposition and spiralled into a devastating conflict. Observers say 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 deadlock. "There are no conditions for the practice of the rights of free speech, association or peaceful protest," the United Nations' top human rights official Volker Türk said. Over two hundred people have been charged for disrupting or opposing the election under a new law which imposes severe punishments, including the death penalty. Director Mike Tee, actor Kyaw Win Htut and comedian Ohn Daing were among the prominent figures found guilty under the law, which was passed in July. They were each given a seven-year jail term after criticising a promotional video endorsing the elections. Immense Challenges and Pressure Civilians are "facing pressure from all sides," Mr Türk said in a comment, adding that resistance forces have issued their own threats urging people to boycott the polls. The military has been engaged on multiple battlefields, against both pro-democracy fighters who oppose the coup, as well as ethnic armies which have their own militias. 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 massive logistical challenge for conducting an election. A Restricted Poll Voting is set to take place in three phases 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 as much as one half of the country. Even in the townships that are voting, some districts will hold elections, making it challenging to predict a likely 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. Some 40 parties, including Aung San Suu Kyi's National League of Democracy, which achieved landslide victories in 2015 and 2020, have been banned. Suu Kyi and many of the party's key leaders have been jailed under charges widely condemned as politically motivated, while others are in hiding abroad. International Condemnation "By splitting the vote into stages, the authorities can change their approach if the results in the first phase do not go their way," commented Htin Kyaw Aye, a representative of the watchdog group Spring Sprouts. Nations in the West, including the United Kingdom and the EU legislature, have dismissed the vote as a sham, while regional bloc Asean has urged political dialogue to precede any election. The Myanmar regime has rejected condemnation of the polls, maintaining that it aims to "restore a democracy with multiple parties". "The election is being held for Myanmar. It is being held for the citizens of Myanmar. It is not intended for the international community," a junta spokesman told a news conference last week. Junta chief Min Aung Hlaing warned earlier this week that those who choose not to participate are turning their back on "the path to democracy".