🔗 Share this article Conflict-ravaged Myanmar Goes to the Polls in Broadly Condemned Political Theater. Myanmar's junta is holding a staggered election over the next month. Myanmar is going to the polls in a electoral process widely dismissed as a farce, with key opposition groups banned, numerous figures jailed and a significant portion of the country unable to participate because of an ongoing civil war. A Staggered Vote Amid War The military government is conducting a phased ballot nearly half a decade after it took control in a coup, which sparked widespread opposition and spiralled into a devastating conflict. Analysts note the junta, with backing from Beijing, is seeking to legitimise and consolidate its power as it looks for a way out of the devastating deadlock. "There are no conditions for the exercise of the freedoms of free speech, association or peaceful assembly," UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk said. Over two hundred people have been charged for interfering with or opposing the election under a recently enacted legislation which carries severe punishments, including the possibility of execution. 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 criticising a film endorsing the elections. Immense Challenges and Coercion Civilians are "being coerced from all sides," Mr Türk noted in a statement, pointing out that armed rebel groups have made warnings urging people to boycott the polls. The military has been fighting on multiple battlefields, against both pro-democracy fighters who reject the coup, as well as ethnic armed organisations which have their own militias. It lost control of large parts of the country in a string of defeats, but regained territory this year following relentless airstrikes 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 Limited Vote Voting is set to take place in three rounds over the coming weeks in 274 of the country's 330 townships, with the remainder deemed too unstable. Outcomes are expected by late January. There is unlikely 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 forecast a likely turnout. A handful of parties, including the military-backed Union Solidarity and Development Party, are running nominees nationwide, while another 51 parties and non-aligned contenders will compete 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 many of the party's key leaders have been jailed under charges broadly viewed as politically motivated, while the rest are in hiding abroad. Criticism and Rejection "Through dividing the vote into phases, the junta can change their approach if the results in the first phase do not go their way," noted Htin Kyaw Aye, a spokesman of the watchdog group Spring Sprouts. Western governments, including the United Kingdom and the EU legislature, have dismissed the vote as a pretence, while neighbouring group Asean has urged negotiations to come before any election. The Myanmar regime has rejected condemnation of the polls, insisting 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 people of Myanmar. It is not intended for the international community," a military representative stated at a briefing last week. Military leader Min Aung Hlaing cautioned earlier this week that those who refuse to vote are rejecting "progress toward democracy".
Myanmar's junta is holding a staggered election over the next month. Myanmar is going to the polls in a electoral process widely dismissed as a farce, with key opposition groups banned, numerous figures jailed and a significant portion of the country unable to participate because of an ongoing civil war. A Staggered Vote Amid War The military government is conducting a phased ballot nearly half a decade after it took control in a coup, which sparked widespread opposition and spiralled into a devastating conflict. Analysts note the junta, with backing from Beijing, is seeking to legitimise and consolidate its power as it looks for a way out of the devastating deadlock. "There are no conditions for the exercise of the freedoms of free speech, association or peaceful assembly," UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk said. Over two hundred people have been charged for interfering with or opposing the election under a recently enacted legislation which carries severe punishments, including the possibility of execution. 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 criticising a film endorsing the elections. Immense Challenges and Coercion Civilians are "being coerced from all sides," Mr Türk noted in a statement, pointing out that armed rebel groups have made warnings urging people to boycott the polls. The military has been fighting on multiple battlefields, against both pro-democracy fighters who reject the coup, as well as ethnic armed organisations which have their own militias. It lost control of large parts of the country in a string of defeats, but regained territory this year following relentless airstrikes 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 Limited Vote Voting is set to take place in three rounds over the coming weeks in 274 of the country's 330 townships, with the remainder deemed too unstable. Outcomes are expected by late January. There is unlikely 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 forecast a likely turnout. A handful of parties, including the military-backed Union Solidarity and Development Party, are running nominees nationwide, while another 51 parties and non-aligned contenders will compete 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 many of the party's key leaders have been jailed under charges broadly viewed as politically motivated, while the rest are in hiding abroad. Criticism and Rejection "Through dividing the vote into phases, the junta can change their approach if the results in the first phase do not go their way," noted Htin Kyaw Aye, a spokesman of the watchdog group Spring Sprouts. Western governments, including the United Kingdom and the EU legislature, have dismissed the vote as a pretence, while neighbouring group Asean has urged negotiations to come before any election. The Myanmar regime has rejected condemnation of the polls, insisting 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 people of Myanmar. It is not intended for the international community," a military representative stated at a briefing last week. Military leader Min Aung Hlaing cautioned earlier this week that those who refuse to vote are rejecting "progress toward democracy".