War-torn Burma Votes in Widely Criticised Political Theater.
The nation is holding an election in a vote broadly rejected as a sham, with key opposition groups dissolved, many of their leaders jailed and as much as half of the country unlikely to vote because of an continuing internal conflict.
A Staggered Vote Amid War
The military government is conducting a phased ballot nearly five years after it seized power in a coup, which sparked widespread opposition and escalated into a devastating conflict.
Analysts note the military regime, with China's support, is seeking to legitimise and consolidate its power as it seeks a way out of the devastating deadlock.
"The environment does not allow for the practice of the rights of free speech, assembly or peaceful assembly," UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk said.
Over two hundred people have been prosecuted for disrupting or opposing the polls under a recently enacted legislation which imposes harsh penalties, including the possibility of execution.
Director Mike Tee, actor Kyaw Win Htut and comedian Ohn Daing were among the well-known individuals convicted under the law, which was enacted in July. They were each handed a seven-year jail term after criticising a promotional video endorsing the elections.
Logistical Nightmare and Pressure
Civilians are "facing pressure from all sides," Mr Türk said in a statement, adding that resistance forces have issued their own threats urging people to boycott the polls.
The army has been engaged on several fronts, against both pro-democracy fighters who oppose 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 after 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 holding an election.
A Restricted Poll
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 remainder 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, some districts will hold elections, making it difficult to predict a possible turnout.
A handful of parties, including the junta-supported Union Solidarity and Development Party, are fielding candidates nationwide, while another 51 parties and independent candidates will contest 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 a number of the party's key leaders have been imprisoned under charges widely condemned as fabricated, while the rest are in hiding abroad.
Criticism and Rejection
"Through dividing the vote into stages, the authorities 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.
Nations in the West, including the UK and the EU legislature, have rejected the vote as a sham, while regional bloc Asean has called for negotiations to precede any election.
The Myanmar regime has dismissed condemnation of the polls, maintaining that it aims to "return [the country] to a democracy with multiple parties".
"The election is being held for our nation. It is being held for the people of this country. It is not intended for the outside world," a junta spokesman stated at a briefing 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".
