π Share this article Conflict-ravaged Burma Votes in Broadly Condemned 'Sham' Election. Myanmar's junta is holding a staggered vote over the next month. Myanmar is going to the polls in a electoral process widely dismissed as a farce, with major political parties dissolved, many of their leaders jailed and a significant portion of the country unable to participate because of an ongoing internal conflict. A Staggered Vote Amid War The ruling junta is conducting a phased ballot nearly half a decade after it seized power in a coup, which sparked widespread opposition and escalated into a devastating conflict. Observers say the military regime, with China's support, is attempting to validate and entrench its power as it looks for a way out of the costly deadlock. "The environment does not allow for the exercise of the rights of freedom of expression, association or peaceful assembly," the United Nations' top human rights official Volker TΓΌrk said. More than 200 people have been charged for interfering with or opposing the polls under a new law which carries harsh penalties, including the possibility of execution. Director Mike Tee, actor Kyaw Win Htut and entertainer Ohn Daing were among the prominent figures convicted under the law, which was enacted in July. They were each given a prison sentence of seven years after criticising a promotional video promoting the elections. Immense Challenges and Pressure Civilians are "facing pressure from all sides," Mr TΓΌrk noted in a comment, pointing out that armed rebel groups have made warnings asking people to boycott the polls. The military has been fighting on multiple battlefields, against both armed resistance groups who reject the coup, as well as ethnic armies which have their own militias. It ceded territory of vast areas of the country in a string of defeats, but clawed back territory this year following sustained aerial bombardment enabled by support from China and Russia. All of this and the fact that large parts of the country are still under rebel administration presents a huge logistical challenge for conducting an election. A Limited Vote Voting is set to take place in three rounds over the coming weeks in 274 of the country's 330 townships, with the rest deemed too unstable. Results are expected by late 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 difficult 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 compete only at the local levels. Some 40 parties, including Aung San Suu Kyi's National League of Democracy, which achieved decisive wins in 2015 and 2020, have been dissolved. Suu Kyi and many of the party's senior figures have been imprisoned under charges broadly viewed as politically motivated, while the rest are in hiding abroad. International Condemnation "Through dividing the vote into stages, the authorities can change their approach if the results in the initial round do not go their way," noted Htin Kyaw Aye, a representative of the election-monitoring group Spring Sprouts. Western governments, including the UK 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 condemnation of the polls, maintaining that it aims to "return [the country] to a democracy with multiple parties". "The election is being held for Myanmar. It is being held for the citizens of Myanmar. It is not being held for the international community," a military representative stated at a news conference last week. Junta chief Min Aung Hlaing cautioned earlier this week that those who refuse to vote are rejecting "progress toward democracy".
Myanmar's junta is holding a staggered vote over the next month. Myanmar is going to the polls in a electoral process widely dismissed as a farce, with major political parties dissolved, many of their leaders jailed and a significant portion of the country unable to participate because of an ongoing internal conflict. A Staggered Vote Amid War The ruling junta is conducting a phased ballot nearly half a decade after it seized power in a coup, which sparked widespread opposition and escalated into a devastating conflict. Observers say the military regime, with China's support, is attempting to validate and entrench its power as it looks for a way out of the costly deadlock. "The environment does not allow for the exercise of the rights of freedom of expression, association or peaceful assembly," the United Nations' top human rights official Volker TΓΌrk said. More than 200 people have been charged for interfering with or opposing the polls under a new law which carries harsh penalties, including the possibility of execution. Director Mike Tee, actor Kyaw Win Htut and entertainer Ohn Daing were among the prominent figures convicted under the law, which was enacted in July. They were each given a prison sentence of seven years after criticising a promotional video promoting the elections. Immense Challenges and Pressure Civilians are "facing pressure from all sides," Mr TΓΌrk noted in a comment, pointing out that armed rebel groups have made warnings asking people to boycott the polls. The military has been fighting on multiple battlefields, against both armed resistance groups who reject the coup, as well as ethnic armies which have their own militias. It ceded territory of vast areas of the country in a string of defeats, but clawed back territory this year following sustained aerial bombardment enabled by support from China and Russia. All of this and the fact that large parts of the country are still under rebel administration presents a huge logistical challenge for conducting an election. A Limited Vote Voting is set to take place in three rounds over the coming weeks in 274 of the country's 330 townships, with the rest deemed too unstable. Results are expected by late 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 difficult 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 compete only at the local levels. Some 40 parties, including Aung San Suu Kyi's National League of Democracy, which achieved decisive wins in 2015 and 2020, have been dissolved. Suu Kyi and many of the party's senior figures have been imprisoned under charges broadly viewed as politically motivated, while the rest are in hiding abroad. International Condemnation "Through dividing the vote into stages, the authorities can change their approach if the results in the initial round do not go their way," noted Htin Kyaw Aye, a representative of the election-monitoring group Spring Sprouts. Western governments, including the UK 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 condemnation of the polls, maintaining that it aims to "return [the country] to a democracy with multiple parties". "The election is being held for Myanmar. It is being held for the citizens of Myanmar. It is not being held for the international community," a military representative stated at a news conference last week. Junta chief Min Aung Hlaing cautioned earlier this week that those who refuse to vote are rejecting "progress toward democracy".