War-torn Burma Goes to the Polls in Broadly Condemned 'Sham' Election.

The nation is holding an election in a vote broadly rejected as a sham, with major political parties banned, numerous figures jailed and a significant portion of the country unable to participate because of an ongoing internal conflict.

A Phased Ballot Amid Conflict

The ruling junta is conducting a staggered election nearly five years after it took control in a coup, which sparked widespread opposition and escalated into a devastating conflict.

Analysts note the military regime, with China's support, is attempting to validate and entrench its power as it seeks a way out of the costly deadlock.

"There are no conditions for the practice of the freedoms of freedom of expression, assembly or peaceful assembly," the United Nations' top human rights official Volker Türk stated.

More than 200 people have been charged for disrupting or opposing the election under a new law which carries severe punishments, including the possibility of execution.

Director Mike Tee, performer Kyaw Win Htut and entertainer Ohn Daing were among the well-known individuals convicted under the law, which was enacted in July. They were each given a seven-year jail term after criticising a promotional video promoting the elections.

Immense Challenges and Coercion

Civilians are "facing pressure from all sides," Mr Türk said in a comment, pointing out that resistance forces have made warnings urging people to shun the polls.

The army has been engaged on several fronts, against both pro-democracy fighters who oppose the coup, as well as ethnic armed organisations which have their own forces. It lost control of vast areas of the country in a series of major setbacks, but regained territory this year following sustained aerial bombardment enabled by support from Beijing and Moscow.

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 Restricted Poll

The ballot 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 not secure enough. Outcomes are expected by late 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 predict a likely turnout.

Six parties, including the military-backed Union Solidarity and Development Party, are fielding candidates nationwide, while another 51 parties and non-aligned contenders will compete only at the state or regional levels.

Some 40 parties, including Aung San Suu Kyi's National League of Democracy, which scored landslide victories in 2015 and 2020, have been dissolved. Suu Kyi and many of the party's senior figures have been imprisoned under charges widely condemned as fabricated, while the rest are in hiding abroad.

Criticism and Rejection

"By splitting the vote into phases, the junta can adjust tactics if the results in the initial round do not go their way," commented 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 pretence, while regional bloc Asean has called for negotiations to come before any election.

The Burmese junta has rejected condemnation of the polls, maintaining that it aims to "restore a democracy with multiple parties".

"This vote is being held for our nation. It is being held for the citizens of Myanmar. It is not being held for the outside world," 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 turning their back on "the path to democracy".