🔗 Share this article War-torn Myanmar Votes in Broadly Condemned 'Sham' Election. Myanmar's junta is holding a phased election over the next month. The nation is holding an election in a vote broadly rejected as a farce, with key opposition groups dissolved, many of their leaders imprisoned and a significant portion of the country unable to participate because of an continuing civil war. A Staggered Vote Amid War The military government is holding a phased ballot nearly half a decade after it took control in a takeover, which sparked widespread opposition and escalated into a civil war. Observers say the junta, with China's support, is attempting to validate and consolidate its power as it seeks a way out of the devastating deadlock. "The environment does not allow for the exercise of the freedoms of free speech, association or peaceful assembly," the United Nations' top human rights official Volker Türk stated. Over two hundred people have been prosecuted for interfering with 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 seven-year jail term after speaking out against a promotional video endorsing the elections. Logistical Nightmare and Coercion Civilians are "being coerced from all sides," Mr Türk said in a statement, adding that armed rebel groups have made warnings urging people to shun the polls. The army has been engaged on multiple battlefields, against both pro-democracy fighters who oppose the coup, as well as ethnic armed organisations which have their own militias. It ceded territory of large parts of the country in a string of defeats, but regained territory this year after 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 massive operational hurdle for conducting an election. A Restricted Poll The ballot is set to take place in three phases over the next month in two hundred and seventy-four of the country's three hundred and thirty townships, with the remainder deemed not secure enough. Results are expected around the end of January. There is unlikely to be any voting in up to fifty percent of the country. Even in the townships that are voting, some districts will hold elections, making it difficult to forecast a possible turnout. Six parties, including the junta-supported Union Solidarity and Development Party, are fielding candidates nationwide, while another 51 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 landslide victories in 2015 and 2020, have been banned. Suu Kyi and a number of the party's senior figures have been jailed under charges widely condemned as politically motivated, while the rest are in exile. International Condemnation "Through dividing the vote into stages, the authorities can adjust tactics if the results in the initial round do not go their way," noted 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 sham, while neighbouring group Asean has called for political dialogue to precede any election. The Burmese junta has dismissed criticism 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 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 vote broadly rejected as a farce, with key opposition groups dissolved, many of their leaders imprisoned and a significant portion of the country unable to participate because of an continuing civil war. A Staggered Vote Amid War The military government is holding a phased ballot nearly half a decade after it took control in a takeover, which sparked widespread opposition and escalated into a civil war. Observers say the junta, with China's support, is attempting to validate and consolidate its power as it seeks a way out of the devastating deadlock. "The environment does not allow for the exercise of the freedoms of free speech, association or peaceful assembly," the United Nations' top human rights official Volker Türk stated. Over two hundred people have been prosecuted for interfering with 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 seven-year jail term after speaking out against a promotional video endorsing the elections. Logistical Nightmare and Coercion Civilians are "being coerced from all sides," Mr Türk said in a statement, adding that armed rebel groups have made warnings urging people to shun the polls. The army has been engaged on multiple battlefields, against both pro-democracy fighters who oppose the coup, as well as ethnic armed organisations which have their own militias. It ceded territory of large parts of the country in a string of defeats, but regained territory this year after 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 massive operational hurdle for conducting an election. A Restricted Poll The ballot is set to take place in three phases over the next month in two hundred and seventy-four of the country's three hundred and thirty townships, with the remainder deemed not secure enough. Results are expected around the end of January. There is unlikely to be any voting in up to fifty percent of the country. Even in the townships that are voting, some districts will hold elections, making it difficult to forecast a possible turnout. Six parties, including the junta-supported Union Solidarity and Development Party, are fielding candidates nationwide, while another 51 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 landslide victories in 2015 and 2020, have been banned. Suu Kyi and a number of the party's senior figures have been jailed under charges widely condemned as politically motivated, while the rest are in exile. International Condemnation "Through dividing the vote into stages, the authorities can adjust tactics if the results in the initial round do not go their way," noted 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 sham, while neighbouring group Asean has called for political dialogue to precede any election. The Burmese junta has dismissed criticism 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 turning their back on "the path to democracy".