🔗 Share this article War-torn Burma Votes in Broadly Condemned 'Sham' Election. The country's junta is conducting a staggered election over the next month. The nation is holding an election in a electoral process broadly rejected as a sham, with major political parties banned, numerous figures jailed and as much as half of the country unable to participate because of an ongoing civil war. A Staggered Vote Amid War The military government is conducting a staggered election nearly five years after it seized power in a coup, which ignited massive protests and escalated into a devastating conflict. Observers say the junta, with China's support, is seeking to legitimise and consolidate its power as it seeks a way out of the devastating stalemate. "The environment does not allow for the practice of the freedoms of free speech, association or peaceful protest," the United Nations' top human rights official Volker Türk stated. More than 200 people have been prosecuted for disrupting or opposing the polls under a recently enacted legislation which imposes severe punishments, including the possibility of execution. Film director Mike Tee, actor Kyaw Win Htut and entertainer Ohn Daing were among the prominent figures convicted under the law, which was passed in July. They were each given a prison sentence of seven years after criticising a promotional video promoting the elections. Immense Challenges and Pressure Civilians are "being coerced from all sides," Mr Türk said in a comment, pointing out that resistance forces have made warnings asking people to shun the polls. The military has been engaged on several fronts, against both armed resistance groups who oppose the coup, as well as ethnic armies which have their own militias. It ceded territory of large parts of the country in a series of major setbacks, but regained territory this year after sustained aerial bombardment 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 logistical challenge for holding an election. A Restricted Poll Voting is set to take place in three rounds over the next month in 274 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 up to fifty percent of the country. Even in the townships that are voting, some districts will hold elections, making it difficult to forecast a possible turnout. Six parties, including the junta-supported Union Solidarity and Development Party, are running nominees nationwide, while another 51 parties and independent candidates will compete only at the state or regional levels. Approximately forty groups, including Aung San Suu Kyi's National League of Democracy, which scored decisive wins in 2015 and 2020, have been dissolved. Suu Kyi and many of the party's senior figures 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 adjust tactics if the outcomes in the first phase do not go their way," commented Htin Kyaw Aye, a spokesman of the watchdog group Spring Sprouts. Nations in the West, including the UK and the EU legislature, have rejected the vote as a sham, while regional bloc Asean has urged negotiations to precede any election. The Burmese junta has dismissed criticism 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 people of Myanmar. It is not intended for the international community," a military representative stated at 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".
The country's junta is conducting a staggered election over the next month. The nation is holding an election in a electoral process broadly rejected as a sham, with major political parties banned, numerous figures jailed and as much as half of the country unable to participate because of an ongoing civil war. A Staggered Vote Amid War The military government is conducting a staggered election nearly five years after it seized power in a coup, which ignited massive protests and escalated into a devastating conflict. Observers say the junta, with China's support, is seeking to legitimise and consolidate its power as it seeks a way out of the devastating stalemate. "The environment does not allow for the practice of the freedoms of free speech, association or peaceful protest," the United Nations' top human rights official Volker Türk stated. More than 200 people have been prosecuted for disrupting or opposing the polls under a recently enacted legislation which imposes severe punishments, including the possibility of execution. Film director Mike Tee, actor Kyaw Win Htut and entertainer Ohn Daing were among the prominent figures convicted under the law, which was passed in July. They were each given a prison sentence of seven years after criticising a promotional video promoting the elections. Immense Challenges and Pressure Civilians are "being coerced from all sides," Mr Türk said in a comment, pointing out that resistance forces have made warnings asking people to shun the polls. The military has been engaged on several fronts, against both armed resistance groups who oppose the coup, as well as ethnic armies which have their own militias. It ceded territory of large parts of the country in a series of major setbacks, but regained territory this year after sustained aerial bombardment 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 logistical challenge for holding an election. A Restricted Poll Voting is set to take place in three rounds over the next month in 274 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 up to fifty percent of the country. Even in the townships that are voting, some districts will hold elections, making it difficult to forecast a possible turnout. Six parties, including the junta-supported Union Solidarity and Development Party, are running nominees nationwide, while another 51 parties and independent candidates will compete only at the state or regional levels. Approximately forty groups, including Aung San Suu Kyi's National League of Democracy, which scored decisive wins in 2015 and 2020, have been dissolved. Suu Kyi and many of the party's senior figures 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 adjust tactics if the outcomes in the first phase do not go their way," commented Htin Kyaw Aye, a spokesman of the watchdog group Spring Sprouts. Nations in the West, including the UK and the EU legislature, have rejected the vote as a sham, while regional bloc Asean has urged negotiations to precede any election. The Burmese junta has dismissed criticism 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 people of Myanmar. It is not intended for the international community," a military representative stated at 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".