🔗 Share this article War-torn Myanmar Goes to the Polls in Broadly Condemned Political Theater. Myanmar's junta is holding a staggered vote over the next month. Myanmar is going to the polls in a vote broadly rejected as a farce, with key opposition groups dissolved, numerous figures imprisoned and a significant portion of the country unable to participate because of an ongoing internal conflict. A Staggered Vote Amid Conflict The ruling junta is holding a staggered election nearly five years after it seized power in a coup, which sparked massive protests and spiralled into a civil war. Observers say the military regime, with backing from Beijing, is seeking to legitimise and entrench its power as it seeks a way out of the devastating deadlock. "There are no conditions for the exercise of the rights of free speech, assembly or peaceful protest," UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk stated. More than 200 people have been prosecuted for interfering with or criticising the election under a recently enacted legislation which carries harsh penalties, 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 given a prison sentence of seven years after speaking out against a film promoting the elections. Immense Challenges and Pressure Civilians are "facing pressure from all sides," Mr Türk said in a statement, pointing out that armed rebel groups have issued their own threats asking people to boycott the polls. The military has been fighting on multiple battlefields, against both pro-democracy fighters 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 series of major setbacks, but clawed back territory this year following sustained aerial bombardment made possible through support from Beijing and Moscow. All of this and the fact that significant regions of the country are still under opposition control presents a huge operational hurdle for holding an election. A Limited Vote Voting is set to take place in three phases over the coming weeks in two hundred and seventy-four of the country's three hundred and thirty 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 fielding candidates nationwide, while dozens more parties and independent candidates will compete only at the state or regional 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 many of the party's key leaders have been imprisoned under charges widely condemned as politically motivated, while others are in exile. International Condemnation "Through dividing the vote into stages, the junta can adjust tactics if the results in the first phase do not go their way," commented Htin Kyaw Aye, a representative of the watchdog group Spring Sprouts. Western governments, including the United Kingdom and the European Parliament, have dismissed the vote as a pretence, while regional bloc Asean has called for negotiations to come before any election. The Burmese junta has dismissed criticism of the polls, maintaining that it aims to "restore a multi-party democratic system". "This vote is being held for our nation. It is being held for the people of this country. It is not intended for the international community," a military representative stated at a news conference last week. Military leader Min Aung Hlaing warned earlier this week that those who choose not to participate 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 vote broadly rejected as a farce, with key opposition groups dissolved, numerous figures imprisoned and a significant portion of the country unable to participate because of an ongoing internal conflict. A Staggered Vote Amid Conflict The ruling junta is holding a staggered election nearly five years after it seized power in a coup, which sparked massive protests and spiralled into a civil war. Observers say the military regime, with backing from Beijing, is seeking to legitimise and entrench its power as it seeks a way out of the devastating deadlock. "There are no conditions for the exercise of the rights of free speech, assembly or peaceful protest," UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk stated. More than 200 people have been prosecuted for interfering with or criticising the election under a recently enacted legislation which carries harsh penalties, 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 given a prison sentence of seven years after speaking out against a film promoting the elections. Immense Challenges and Pressure Civilians are "facing pressure from all sides," Mr Türk said in a statement, pointing out that armed rebel groups have issued their own threats asking people to boycott the polls. The military has been fighting on multiple battlefields, against both pro-democracy fighters 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 series of major setbacks, but clawed back territory this year following sustained aerial bombardment made possible through support from Beijing and Moscow. All of this and the fact that significant regions of the country are still under opposition control presents a huge operational hurdle for holding an election. A Limited Vote Voting is set to take place in three phases over the coming weeks in two hundred and seventy-four of the country's three hundred and thirty 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 fielding candidates nationwide, while dozens more parties and independent candidates will compete only at the state or regional 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 many of the party's key leaders have been imprisoned under charges widely condemned as politically motivated, while others are in exile. International Condemnation "Through dividing the vote into stages, the junta can adjust tactics if the results in the first phase do not go their way," commented Htin Kyaw Aye, a representative of the watchdog group Spring Sprouts. Western governments, including the United Kingdom and the European Parliament, have dismissed the vote as a pretence, while regional bloc Asean has called for negotiations to come before any election. The Burmese junta has dismissed criticism of the polls, maintaining that it aims to "restore a multi-party democratic system". "This vote is being held for our nation. It is being held for the people of this country. It is not intended for the international community," a military representative stated at a news conference last week. Military leader Min Aung Hlaing warned earlier this week that those who choose not to participate are rejecting "progress toward democracy".