Conflict-ravaged Myanmar Goes to the Polls in Broadly Condemned 'Sham' Election.

Myanmar is going to the polls in a vote widely dismissed as a farce, with key opposition groups dissolved, many of their leaders imprisoned and as much as half of the country unlikely to vote because of an continuing internal conflict.

A Phased Ballot Amid Conflict

The ruling junta 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 military regime, with backing from Beijing, is seeking to legitimise and entrench its power as it seeks a way out of the costly deadlock.

"The environment does not allow for the practice of the rights of free speech, 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 recently enacted legislation which carries harsh penalties, including the death penalty.

Film director Mike Tee, actor Kyaw Win Htut and comedian Ohn Daing were among the well-known individuals convicted under the law, which was passed in July. They were each given a prison sentence of seven years after speaking out against a film promoting the elections.

Logistical Nightmare and Pressure

Civilians are "being coerced from all sides," Mr Türk noted in a comment, adding that armed rebel groups 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 ceded territory of large parts of the country in a string of defeats, but regained territory this year following relentless airstrikes 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 massive logistical challenge 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 three hundred and thirty townships, with the rest deemed too unstable. Outcomes are expected around the end of January.

There is not expected 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 forecast a possible 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 contest 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 banned. Suu Kyi and many of the party's key leaders have been jailed under charges widely condemned as politically motivated, while others are in hiding abroad.

Criticism and Rejection

"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 representative of the watchdog group Spring Sprouts.

Nations in the West, including the UK and the EU legislature, have dismissed the vote as a pretence, while neighbouring group Asean has urged political dialogue to come before any election.

The Burmese junta has dismissed condemnation of the polls, maintaining that it aims to "restore a multi-party democratic system".

"This vote is being held for our nation. It is being held for the citizens of this country. It is not being held for the outside world," a junta spokesman stated at a briefing last week.

Military leader Min Aung Hlaing warned earlier this week that those who refuse to vote are rejecting "progress toward democracy".