Conflict-ravaged Myanmar Goes to the Polls in Widely Criticised 'Sham' Election.

The nation is holding an election in a vote widely dismissed as a farce, with major political parties dissolved, many of their leaders jailed and as much as half of the country unable to participate because of an ongoing civil war.

A Phased Ballot Amid War

The military government is holding a staggered election nearly half a decade after it took control in a coup, which ignited widespread opposition and spiralled into a civil war.

Analysts note the junta, with backing from Beijing, is attempting to validate and entrench its power as it looks for a way out of the costly stalemate.

"The environment does not allow for the exercise of the rights of free speech, association or peaceful assembly," the United Nations' top human rights official Volker Türk stated.

More than 200 people have been prosecuted for interfering with or opposing the polls under a new law which carries harsh penalties, including the possibility of execution.

Director Mike Tee, actor Kyaw Win Htut and entertainer Ohn Daing were among the well-known individuals found guilty under the law, which was passed in July. They were each given a seven-year jail term after speaking out against a film endorsing the elections.

Immense Challenges and Coercion

Civilians are "being coerced from all sides," Mr Türk noted in a comment, adding that armed rebel groups have made warnings asking people to boycott the polls.

The military has been engaged on several fronts, against both armed resistance groups who reject the coup, as well as ethnic armies which have their own militias. It ceded territory of large parts of the country in a string of defeats, but clawed back territory this year following relentless airstrikes made possible through 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 holding an election.

A Restricted Poll

Voting is set to take place in three rounds over the coming weeks in 274 of the country's three hundred and thirty 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 predict a possible turnout.

A handful of parties, including the military-backed Union Solidarity and Development Party, are running nominees nationwide, while dozens more 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 landslide victories in 2015 and 2020, have been banned. Suu Kyi and many of the party's senior figures have been jailed under charges widely condemned as politically motivated, while the rest are in exile.

Criticism and Rejection

"Through dividing the vote into stages, the junta can adjust tactics if the outcomes in the initial round do not go their way," commented Htin Kyaw Aye, a representative of the watchdog group Spring Sprouts.

Western governments, including the UK and the European Parliament, have dismissed the vote as a pretence, while regional bloc Asean has urged political dialogue to come before any election.

The Burmese junta has rejected 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 people of Myanmar. It is not being held for the international community," a military representative told a briefing last week.

Junta chief Min Aung Hlaing warned earlier this week that those who choose not to participate are rejecting "progress toward democracy".