Conflict-ravaged Burma Goes to the Polls in Broadly Condemned Political Theater.
Myanmar is going to the polls in a electoral process widely dismissed as a farce, with major political parties banned, many of their leaders imprisoned and as much as half of the country unable to participate because of an continuing civil war.
A Phased Ballot Amid Conflict
The ruling junta is conducting a staggered election nearly half a decade after it seized power in a takeover, which ignited massive protests and escalated into a devastating conflict.
Observers say the military regime, with backing from Beijing, 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 assembly," UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk said.
More than 200 people have been prosecuted for disrupting or criticising the election under a recently enacted legislation which carries harsh penalties, including the possibility of execution.
Film director Mike Tee, performer Kyaw Win Htut and entertainer Ohn Daing were among the prominent figures convicted under the law, which was enacted in July. They were each handed a prison sentence of seven years after speaking out against a film endorsing the elections.
Immense Challenges and Coercion
Civilians are "facing pressure from all sides," Mr Türk said in a comment, adding that resistance forces have made warnings asking people to boycott the polls.
The army has been fighting on several fronts, against both pro-democracy fighters who oppose the coup, as well as ethnic armies which have their own militias. It lost control of large parts of the country in a string of defeats, but regained territory this year following sustained aerial bombardment made possible through support from China and Russia.
All of this and the fact that significant regions of the country are still under opposition control presents a huge operational hurdle for conducting an election.
A Restricted Poll
The ballot is set to take place in three rounds over the coming weeks in 274 of the country's 330 townships, with the rest deemed not secure enough. 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, some districts will go to the polls, making it difficult to forecast 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 contest only at the local levels.
Some 40 parties, including Aung San Suu Kyi's National League of Democracy, which scored landslide victories 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 exile.
International Condemnation
"By splitting the vote into phases, 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.
Western governments, including the UK and the EU legislature, have dismissed the vote as a pretence, while neighbouring group Asean has called for political dialogue to precede any election.
The Burmese junta has dismissed condemnation of the polls, insisting that it aims to "restore a multi-party democratic system".
"This vote is being held for Myanmar. It is being held for the people of Myanmar. It is not being held for the outside world," a military representative stated at a news conference last week.
Military leader Min Aung Hlaing cautioned earlier this week that those who refuse to vote are rejecting "progress toward democracy".