🔗 Share this article Conflict-ravaged Myanmar Goes to the Polls in Widely Criticised Political Theater. Myanmar's military is conducting a staggered election over the next month. The nation is holding an election in a electoral process widely dismissed as a farce, with major political parties banned, numerous figures imprisoned and as much as half of the country unlikely to vote because of an ongoing civil war. A Staggered Vote Amid Conflict The military government is holding a phased ballot nearly half a decade after it took control in a coup, which sparked massive protests and escalated into a civil war. Analysts note the junta, with China's support, is seeking to legitimise and entrench its power as it looks for a way out of the costly deadlock. "There are no conditions for the exercise of the freedoms of freedom of expression, assembly or peaceful assembly," the United Nations' top human rights official Volker Türk said. More than 200 people have been charged for interfering with or opposing the election under a recently enacted legislation which carries harsh penalties, including the possibility of execution. Director Mike Tee, performer Kyaw Win Htut and entertainer Ohn Daing were among the prominent figures found guilty under the law, which was enacted in July. They were each handed a prison sentence of seven years after criticising a film promoting the elections. Logistical Nightmare and Coercion Civilians are "facing pressure from all sides," Mr Türk noted in a comment, adding that resistance forces have made warnings urging people to boycott 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 militias. It ceded territory of vast areas of the country in a string of defeats, but regained territory this year following sustained aerial bombardment made possible through support from Beijing and Moscow. All of this and the fact that large parts 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 next month in two hundred and seventy-four of the country's three hundred and thirty townships, with the remainder deemed too unstable. Results are expected around the end of 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 go to the polls, making it challenging to predict a likely turnout. Six parties, including the military-backed 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 dissolved. Suu Kyi and many of the party's senior figures have been jailed under charges broadly viewed as politically motivated, while the rest are in hiding abroad. International Condemnation "By splitting the vote into phases, the junta can adjust tactics if the outcomes in the first phase do not go their way," noted Htin Kyaw Aye, a spokesman of the election-monitoring group Spring Sprouts. Nations in the West, including the UK and the EU legislature, have dismissed the vote as a sham, while regional bloc Asean has called for political dialogue to come before any election. The Myanmar regime has dismissed condemnation of the polls, insisting that it aims to "restore 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 being held for the international community," a junta spokesman told a news conference last week. Military leader Min Aung Hlaing cautioned earlier this week that those who refuse to vote are rejecting "the path to democracy".
Myanmar's military is conducting a staggered election over the next month. The nation is holding an election in a electoral process widely dismissed as a farce, with major political parties banned, numerous figures imprisoned and as much as half of the country unlikely to vote because of an ongoing civil war. A Staggered Vote Amid Conflict The military government is holding a phased ballot nearly half a decade after it took control in a coup, which sparked massive protests and escalated into a civil war. Analysts note the junta, with China's support, is seeking to legitimise and entrench its power as it looks for a way out of the costly deadlock. "There are no conditions for the exercise of the freedoms of freedom of expression, assembly or peaceful assembly," the United Nations' top human rights official Volker Türk said. More than 200 people have been charged for interfering with or opposing the election under a recently enacted legislation which carries harsh penalties, including the possibility of execution. Director Mike Tee, performer Kyaw Win Htut and entertainer Ohn Daing were among the prominent figures found guilty under the law, which was enacted in July. They were each handed a prison sentence of seven years after criticising a film promoting the elections. Logistical Nightmare and Coercion Civilians are "facing pressure from all sides," Mr Türk noted in a comment, adding that resistance forces have made warnings urging people to boycott 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 militias. It ceded territory of vast areas of the country in a string of defeats, but regained territory this year following sustained aerial bombardment made possible through support from Beijing and Moscow. All of this and the fact that large parts 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 next month in two hundred and seventy-four of the country's three hundred and thirty townships, with the remainder deemed too unstable. Results are expected around the end of 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 go to the polls, making it challenging to predict a likely turnout. Six parties, including the military-backed 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 dissolved. Suu Kyi and many of the party's senior figures have been jailed under charges broadly viewed as politically motivated, while the rest are in hiding abroad. International Condemnation "By splitting the vote into phases, the junta can adjust tactics if the outcomes in the first phase do not go their way," noted Htin Kyaw Aye, a spokesman of the election-monitoring group Spring Sprouts. Nations in the West, including the UK and the EU legislature, have dismissed the vote as a sham, while regional bloc Asean has called for political dialogue to come before any election. The Myanmar regime has dismissed condemnation of the polls, insisting that it aims to "restore 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 being held for the international community," a junta spokesman told a news conference last week. Military leader Min Aung Hlaing cautioned earlier this week that those who refuse to vote are rejecting "the path to democracy".