🔗 Share this article War-torn Burma Votes in Widely Criticised 'Sham' Election. Myanmar's junta is holding a staggered vote over the next month. The nation is holding an election in a electoral process broadly rejected as a sham, with major political parties banned, numerous figures imprisoned and as much as half of the country unable to participate because of an ongoing civil war. A Phased Ballot Amid Conflict The ruling junta 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 attempting to validate and consolidate its power as it looks for a way out of the devastating stalemate. "The environment does not allow for the exercise of the freedoms of freedom of expression, association or peaceful assembly," UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk stated. Over two hundred people have been charged for interfering with or criticising the polls under a new law which imposes severe punishments, including the death penalty. Director Mike Tee, actor 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. Immense Challenges and Coercion Civilians are "facing pressure from all sides," Mr Türk said in a comment, pointing out that resistance forces have made warnings asking people to boycott the polls. The military has been engaged 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 vast areas of the country in a series of major setbacks, but clawed back territory this year after relentless airstrikes made possible through 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 holding an election. A Limited Vote The ballot is set to take place in three phases over the coming weeks in two hundred and seventy-four of the country's 330 townships, with the remainder deemed too unstable. Outcomes 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 go to the polls, making it challenging to predict a possible turnout. A handful of parties, including the military-backed Union Solidarity and Development Party, are fielding candidates nationwide, while dozens more parties and non-aligned contenders will compete only at the local 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 senior figures have been imprisoned under charges broadly viewed as fabricated, while others are in hiding abroad. International Condemnation "By splitting the vote into phases, the junta can change their approach 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 dismissed the vote as a sham, while neighbouring group Asean has called for negotiations to precede any election. The Myanmar regime has dismissed 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 people of this country. It is not intended for the outside world," a junta spokesman stated at a news conference last week. Military leader Min Aung Hlaing cautioned earlier this week that those who refuse to vote are turning their back on "the path to democracy".
Myanmar's junta is holding a staggered vote over the next month. The nation is holding an election in a electoral process broadly rejected as a sham, with major political parties banned, numerous figures imprisoned and as much as half of the country unable to participate because of an ongoing civil war. A Phased Ballot Amid Conflict The ruling junta 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 attempting to validate and consolidate its power as it looks for a way out of the devastating stalemate. "The environment does not allow for the exercise of the freedoms of freedom of expression, association or peaceful assembly," UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk stated. Over two hundred people have been charged for interfering with or criticising the polls under a new law which imposes severe punishments, including the death penalty. Director Mike Tee, actor 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. Immense Challenges and Coercion Civilians are "facing pressure from all sides," Mr Türk said in a comment, pointing out that resistance forces have made warnings asking people to boycott the polls. The military has been engaged 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 vast areas of the country in a series of major setbacks, but clawed back territory this year after relentless airstrikes made possible through 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 holding an election. A Limited Vote The ballot is set to take place in three phases over the coming weeks in two hundred and seventy-four of the country's 330 townships, with the remainder deemed too unstable. Outcomes 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 go to the polls, making it challenging to predict a possible turnout. A handful of parties, including the military-backed Union Solidarity and Development Party, are fielding candidates nationwide, while dozens more parties and non-aligned contenders will compete only at the local 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 senior figures have been imprisoned under charges broadly viewed as fabricated, while others are in hiding abroad. International Condemnation "By splitting the vote into phases, the junta can change their approach 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 dismissed the vote as a sham, while neighbouring group Asean has called for negotiations to precede any election. The Myanmar regime has dismissed 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 people of this country. It is not intended for the outside world," a junta spokesman stated at a news conference last week. Military leader Min Aung Hlaing cautioned earlier this week that those who refuse to vote are turning their back on "the path to democracy".