🔗 Share this article War-torn Burma Votes in Broadly Condemned 'Sham' Election. The country's junta is conducting a staggered vote over the next month. The nation is holding an election in a vote widely dismissed as a farce, with major political parties dissolved, numerous figures jailed and a significant portion of the country unable to participate because of an ongoing civil war. A Phased Ballot Amid Conflict The ruling junta is holding a phased ballot nearly half a decade after it took control in a coup, which sparked widespread opposition and spiralled into a devastating conflict. Observers say the junta, with backing from Beijing, is seeking to legitimise and consolidate its power as it seeks a way out of the costly stalemate. "The environment does not allow for the exercise of the rights of free speech, association or peaceful assembly," UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk stated. Over two hundred people have been prosecuted for interfering with or opposing the polls under a new law which imposes 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 promoting the elections. Logistical Nightmare and Pressure Civilians are "being coerced from all sides," Mr Türk noted in a comment, pointing out 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 armed organisations which have their own forces. It lost control of large parts of the country in a string of defeats, but clawed back territory this year after sustained aerial bombardment enabled by support from Beijing and Moscow. 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 Limited Vote The ballot is set to take place in three rounds over the coming weeks in 274 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 up to fifty percent 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. Six parties, including the military-backed Union Solidarity and Development Party, are running nominees nationwide, while another 51 parties and independent candidates will compete only at the local 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 broadly viewed as politically motivated, while others are in hiding abroad. Criticism and Rejection "Through dividing the vote into phases, the junta can adjust tactics if the results in the first phase do not go their way," noted Htin Kyaw Aye, a representative of the election-monitoring group Spring Sprouts. Nations in the West, including the UK and the EU legislature, have rejected the vote as a pretence, while neighbouring group Asean has called for political dialogue to precede any election. The Burmese junta has rejected condemnation of the polls, maintaining that it aims to "return [the country] to a multi-party democratic system". "The election is being held for our nation. It is being held for the people of Myanmar. It is not intended for the outside world," a junta spokesman stated at a briefing last week. Junta chief Min Aung Hlaing cautioned earlier this week that those who choose not to participate are rejecting "progress toward democracy".
The country's junta is conducting a staggered vote over the next month. The nation is holding an election in a vote widely dismissed as a farce, with major political parties dissolved, numerous figures jailed and a significant portion of the country unable to participate because of an ongoing civil war. A Phased Ballot Amid Conflict The ruling junta is holding a phased ballot nearly half a decade after it took control in a coup, which sparked widespread opposition and spiralled into a devastating conflict. Observers say the junta, with backing from Beijing, is seeking to legitimise and consolidate its power as it seeks a way out of the costly stalemate. "The environment does not allow for the exercise of the rights of free speech, association or peaceful assembly," UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk stated. Over two hundred people have been prosecuted for interfering with or opposing the polls under a new law which imposes 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 promoting the elections. Logistical Nightmare and Pressure Civilians are "being coerced from all sides," Mr Türk noted in a comment, pointing out 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 armed organisations which have their own forces. It lost control of large parts of the country in a string of defeats, but clawed back territory this year after sustained aerial bombardment enabled by support from Beijing and Moscow. 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 Limited Vote The ballot is set to take place in three rounds over the coming weeks in 274 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 up to fifty percent 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. Six parties, including the military-backed Union Solidarity and Development Party, are running nominees nationwide, while another 51 parties and independent candidates will compete only at the local 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 broadly viewed as politically motivated, while others are in hiding abroad. Criticism and Rejection "Through dividing the vote into phases, the junta can adjust tactics if the results in the first phase do not go their way," noted Htin Kyaw Aye, a representative of the election-monitoring group Spring Sprouts. Nations in the West, including the UK and the EU legislature, have rejected the vote as a pretence, while neighbouring group Asean has called for political dialogue to precede any election. The Burmese junta has rejected condemnation of the polls, maintaining that it aims to "return [the country] to a multi-party democratic system". "The election is being held for our nation. It is being held for the people of Myanmar. It is not intended for the outside world," a junta spokesman stated at a briefing last week. Junta chief Min Aung Hlaing cautioned earlier this week that those who choose not to participate are rejecting "progress toward democracy".