🔗 Share this article War-torn Burma Votes in Widely Criticised 'Sham' Election. The country's junta is conducting a phased vote over the coming weeks. The nation is holding an election in a vote broadly rejected as a farce, with key opposition groups banned, many of their leaders jailed and as much as half of the country unable to participate because of an ongoing civil war. A Staggered Vote Amid Conflict The military government is conducting a phased ballot nearly five years after it took control in a takeover, which sparked massive protests and spiralled into a devastating conflict. Analysts note the military regime, with China's support, is seeking to legitimise and consolidate its power as it looks for a way out of the costly deadlock. "The environment does not allow for the exercise of the freedoms of free speech, assembly or peaceful protest," the United Nations' top human rights official Volker Türk stated. More than 200 people have been charged for interfering with or criticising the election under a recently enacted legislation which imposes harsh penalties, including the death penalty. Film director Mike Tee, performer Kyaw Win Htut and comedian Ohn Daing were among the prominent figures convicted under the law, which was passed in July. They were each given a seven-year jail term after speaking out against a film 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 made warnings asking people to shun the polls. The military has been fighting on multiple battlefields, against both armed resistance groups 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 after sustained aerial bombardment made possible through 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 holding an election. A Restricted Poll Voting is set to take place in three phases over the coming weeks in 274 of the country's 330 townships, with the rest deemed not secure enough. Outcomes are expected around the end of 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 forecast a possible turnout. A handful of parties, including the junta-supported Union Solidarity and Development Party, are running nominees nationwide, while dozens more parties and independent candidates will contest only at the state or regional levels. Some 40 parties, including Aung San Suu Kyi's National League of Democracy, which scored landslide victories in 2015 and 2020, have been dissolved. Suu Kyi and a number of the party's key leaders have been jailed under charges widely condemned as fabricated, while the rest are in exile. Criticism and Rejection "By splitting the vote into stages, the junta can adjust tactics if the outcomes in the initial round do not go their way," commented Htin Kyaw Aye, a representative of the election-monitoring group Spring Sprouts. Nations in the West, including the UK and the EU legislature, have dismissed the vote as a pretence, while regional bloc Asean has called for political dialogue to precede any election. The Burmese junta has dismissed criticism 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 citizens of Myanmar. It is not intended for the international community," a junta spokesman told a briefing last week. Military leader Min Aung Hlaing warned earlier this week that those who refuse to vote are turning their back on "progress toward democracy".
The country's junta is conducting a phased vote over the coming weeks. The nation is holding an election in a vote broadly rejected as a farce, with key opposition groups banned, many of their leaders jailed and as much as half of the country unable to participate because of an ongoing civil war. A Staggered Vote Amid Conflict The military government is conducting a phased ballot nearly five years after it took control in a takeover, which sparked massive protests and spiralled into a devastating conflict. Analysts note the military regime, with China's support, is seeking to legitimise and consolidate its power as it looks for a way out of the costly deadlock. "The environment does not allow for the exercise of the freedoms of free speech, assembly or peaceful protest," the United Nations' top human rights official Volker Türk stated. More than 200 people have been charged for interfering with or criticising the election under a recently enacted legislation which imposes harsh penalties, including the death penalty. Film director Mike Tee, performer Kyaw Win Htut and comedian Ohn Daing were among the prominent figures convicted under the law, which was passed in July. They were each given a seven-year jail term after speaking out against a film 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 made warnings asking people to shun the polls. The military has been fighting on multiple battlefields, against both armed resistance groups 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 after sustained aerial bombardment made possible through 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 holding an election. A Restricted Poll Voting is set to take place in three phases over the coming weeks in 274 of the country's 330 townships, with the rest deemed not secure enough. Outcomes are expected around the end of 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 forecast a possible turnout. A handful of parties, including the junta-supported Union Solidarity and Development Party, are running nominees nationwide, while dozens more parties and independent candidates will contest only at the state or regional levels. Some 40 parties, including Aung San Suu Kyi's National League of Democracy, which scored landslide victories in 2015 and 2020, have been dissolved. Suu Kyi and a number of the party's key leaders have been jailed under charges widely condemned as fabricated, while the rest are in exile. Criticism and Rejection "By splitting the vote into stages, the junta can adjust tactics if the outcomes in the initial round do not go their way," commented Htin Kyaw Aye, a representative of the election-monitoring group Spring Sprouts. Nations in the West, including the UK and the EU legislature, have dismissed the vote as a pretence, while regional bloc Asean has called for political dialogue to precede any election. The Burmese junta has dismissed criticism 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 citizens of Myanmar. It is not intended for the international community," a junta spokesman told a briefing last week. Military leader Min Aung Hlaing warned earlier this week that those who refuse to vote are turning their back on "progress toward democracy".