🔗 Share this article Conflict-ravaged Myanmar Goes to the Polls in Widely Criticised 'Sham' Election. Myanmar's military is holding a staggered election over the coming weeks. Myanmar is going to the polls in a vote widely dismissed as a sham, with key opposition groups dissolved, numerous figures jailed and as much as half of the country unlikely to vote because of an continuing internal conflict. A Staggered Vote Amid Conflict The military government is holding a staggered election nearly five years after it seized power in a takeover, which ignited widespread opposition and escalated into a civil war. Observers say the junta, with backing from Beijing, is attempting to validate and consolidate its power as it seeks a way out of the devastating deadlock. "There are no conditions for the exercise of the rights of freedom of expression, assembly or peaceful protest," UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk said. More than 200 people have been prosecuted for disrupting or criticising the election under a new law which carries severe punishments, including the death penalty. Director Mike Tee, performer Kyaw Win Htut and comedian 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 criticising a promotional video endorsing the elections. Immense Challenges and Pressure Civilians are "being coerced from all sides," Mr Türk said in a comment, adding that armed rebel groups have made warnings asking people to shun the polls. The military has been fighting on multiple battlefields, against both pro-democracy fighters who oppose the coup, as well as ethnic armies which have their own forces. It ceded territory of large parts of the country in a string of defeats, but regained territory this year following relentless airstrikes enabled by support from Beijing and Moscow. All of this and the fact that significant regions of the country are still under rebel administration presents a massive operational hurdle for conducting an election. A Limited Vote The ballot is set to take place in three phases over the coming weeks in two hundred and seventy-four of the country's 330 townships, with the remainder 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, not all constituencies will hold elections, making it challenging to predict a likely turnout. Six parties, including the military-backed Union Solidarity and Development Party, are running nominees nationwide, while another 51 parties and non-aligned contenders will contest 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 many of the party's key leaders have been imprisoned under charges broadly viewed as fabricated, while others are in hiding abroad. Criticism and Rejection "By splitting the vote into stages, the authorities can change their approach if the results in the first phase do not go their way," noted Htin Kyaw Aye, a representative of the watchdog group Spring Sprouts. Nations in the West, including the UK and the EU legislature, have rejected the vote as a pretence, while regional bloc Asean has called for negotiations to precede any election. The Burmese junta has dismissed criticism of the polls, maintaining that it aims to "return [the country] to a multi-party democratic system". "The election is being held for Myanmar. It is being held for the citizens of this country. It is not intended for the outside world," a junta spokesman told a briefing last week. Military leader Min Aung Hlaing warned earlier this week that those who choose not to participate are turning their back on "the path to democracy".
Myanmar's military is holding a staggered election over the coming weeks. Myanmar is going to the polls in a vote widely dismissed as a sham, with key opposition groups dissolved, numerous figures jailed and as much as half of the country unlikely to vote because of an continuing internal conflict. A Staggered Vote Amid Conflict The military government is holding a staggered election nearly five years after it seized power in a takeover, which ignited widespread opposition and escalated into a civil war. Observers say the junta, with backing from Beijing, is attempting to validate and consolidate its power as it seeks a way out of the devastating deadlock. "There are no conditions for the exercise of the rights of freedom of expression, assembly or peaceful protest," UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk said. More than 200 people have been prosecuted for disrupting or criticising the election under a new law which carries severe punishments, including the death penalty. Director Mike Tee, performer Kyaw Win Htut and comedian 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 criticising a promotional video endorsing the elections. Immense Challenges and Pressure Civilians are "being coerced from all sides," Mr Türk said in a comment, adding that armed rebel groups have made warnings asking people to shun the polls. The military has been fighting on multiple battlefields, against both pro-democracy fighters who oppose the coup, as well as ethnic armies which have their own forces. It ceded territory of large parts of the country in a string of defeats, but regained territory this year following relentless airstrikes enabled by support from Beijing and Moscow. All of this and the fact that significant regions of the country are still under rebel administration presents a massive operational hurdle for conducting an election. A Limited Vote The ballot is set to take place in three phases over the coming weeks in two hundred and seventy-four of the country's 330 townships, with the remainder 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, not all constituencies will hold elections, making it challenging to predict a likely turnout. Six parties, including the military-backed Union Solidarity and Development Party, are running nominees nationwide, while another 51 parties and non-aligned contenders will contest 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 many of the party's key leaders have been imprisoned under charges broadly viewed as fabricated, while others are in hiding abroad. Criticism and Rejection "By splitting the vote into stages, the authorities can change their approach if the results in the first phase do not go their way," noted Htin Kyaw Aye, a representative of the watchdog group Spring Sprouts. Nations in the West, including the UK and the EU legislature, have rejected the vote as a pretence, while regional bloc Asean has called for negotiations to precede any election. The Burmese junta has dismissed criticism of the polls, maintaining that it aims to "return [the country] to a multi-party democratic system". "The election is being held for Myanmar. It is being held for the citizens of this country. It is not intended for the outside world," a junta spokesman told a briefing last week. Military leader Min Aung Hlaing warned earlier this week that those who choose not to participate are turning their back on "the path to democracy".