🔗 Share this article Conflict-ravaged Myanmar Goes to the Polls in Broadly Condemned Political Theater. Myanmar's military is holding a phased election over the next month. The nation is holding an election in a electoral process widely dismissed as a farce, with major political parties dissolved, many of their leaders jailed and as much as half of the country unlikely to vote because of an ongoing civil war. A Staggered Vote Amid Conflict The ruling junta is holding a staggered election nearly five years after it seized power in a takeover, which sparked widespread opposition and spiralled into a devastating conflict. Observers say the military regime, with China's support, is seeking to legitimise and consolidate its power as it looks for a way out of the devastating deadlock. "The environment does not allow for the practice 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 polls under a recently enacted legislation which carries severe punishments, including the possibility of execution. Director Mike Tee, actor Kyaw Win Htut and entertainer Ohn Daing were among the well-known individuals convicted under the law, which was passed in July. They were each given 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 noted in a statement, pointing out that resistance forces have issued their own threats asking people to shun the polls. The military has been fighting on several fronts, against both armed resistance groups who oppose 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 clawed back territory this year after relentless airstrikes made possible through support from China and Russia. All of this and the fact that large parts of the country are still under opposition control presents a huge operational hurdle for conducting an election. A Restricted Poll Voting is set to take place in three rounds over the coming weeks in 274 of the country's 330 townships, with the rest deemed not secure enough. Results are expected around the end of 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 challenging to forecast a likely turnout. A handful of parties, including the junta-supported Union Solidarity and Development Party, are running nominees nationwide, while another 51 parties and non-aligned contenders will compete only at the local levels. Approximately forty groups, including Aung San Suu Kyi's National League of Democracy, which achieved decisive wins in 2015 and 2020, have been dissolved. Suu Kyi and many of the party's senior figures have been jailed under charges widely condemned as politically motivated, while others are in hiding abroad. International Condemnation "By splitting the vote into phases, the authorities can adjust tactics if the results in the initial round do not go their way," commented Htin Kyaw Aye, a spokesman of the watchdog group Spring Sprouts. Western governments, including the UK and the European Parliament, have rejected the vote as a pretence, while neighbouring group Asean has called for negotiations to precede any election. The Myanmar regime has dismissed condemnation of the polls, insisting 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 this country. It is not being held for the outside world," a military representative stated at 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 phased election over the next month. The nation is holding an election in a electoral process widely dismissed as a farce, with major political parties dissolved, many of their leaders jailed and as much as half of the country unlikely to vote because of an ongoing civil war. A Staggered Vote Amid Conflict The ruling junta is holding a staggered election nearly five years after it seized power in a takeover, which sparked widespread opposition and spiralled into a devastating conflict. Observers say the military regime, with China's support, is seeking to legitimise and consolidate its power as it looks for a way out of the devastating deadlock. "The environment does not allow for the practice 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 polls under a recently enacted legislation which carries severe punishments, including the possibility of execution. Director Mike Tee, actor Kyaw Win Htut and entertainer Ohn Daing were among the well-known individuals convicted under the law, which was passed in July. They were each given 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 noted in a statement, pointing out that resistance forces have issued their own threats asking people to shun the polls. The military has been fighting on several fronts, against both armed resistance groups who oppose 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 clawed back territory this year after relentless airstrikes made possible through support from China and Russia. All of this and the fact that large parts of the country are still under opposition control presents a huge operational hurdle for conducting an election. A Restricted Poll Voting is set to take place in three rounds over the coming weeks in 274 of the country's 330 townships, with the rest deemed not secure enough. Results are expected around the end of 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 challenging to forecast a likely turnout. A handful of parties, including the junta-supported Union Solidarity and Development Party, are running nominees nationwide, while another 51 parties and non-aligned contenders will compete only at the local levels. Approximately forty groups, including Aung San Suu Kyi's National League of Democracy, which achieved decisive wins in 2015 and 2020, have been dissolved. Suu Kyi and many of the party's senior figures have been jailed under charges widely condemned as politically motivated, while others are in hiding abroad. International Condemnation "By splitting the vote into phases, the authorities can adjust tactics if the results in the initial round do not go their way," commented Htin Kyaw Aye, a spokesman of the watchdog group Spring Sprouts. Western governments, including the UK and the European Parliament, have rejected the vote as a pretence, while neighbouring group Asean has called for negotiations to precede any election. The Myanmar regime has dismissed condemnation of the polls, insisting 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 this country. It is not being held for the outside world," a military representative stated at 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".