War-torn Burma Goes to the Polls in Widely Criticised 'Sham' Election.

Myanmar is going to the polls in a electoral process widely dismissed as a farce, with major political parties dissolved, numerous figures imprisoned and a significant portion of the country unlikely to vote because of an ongoing internal conflict.

A Staggered Vote Amid Conflict

The military government is holding a phased ballot nearly half a decade after it seized power in a coup, which sparked massive protests and escalated into a civil war.

Analysts note the junta, with backing from Beijing, is seeking to legitimise and entrench its power as it looks for a way out of the devastating deadlock.

"The environment does not allow for the practice of the rights of freedom of expression, assembly or peaceful assembly," the United Nations' top human rights official Volker Türk said.

Over two hundred people have been charged for interfering with or opposing the polls under a recently enacted legislation which imposes severe punishments, including the death penalty.

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

Logistical Nightmare and Pressure

Civilians are "being coerced from all sides," Mr Türk noted in a statement, adding 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 reject the coup, as well as ethnic armed organisations 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 following relentless airstrikes 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 massive operational hurdle for conducting an election.

A Restricted Poll

The ballot 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 not secure enough. Outcomes 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, not all constituencies will go to the polls, making it difficult to predict a likely turnout.

A handful of parties, including the military-backed 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 landslide victories in 2015 and 2020, have been banned. Suu Kyi and many of the party's key leaders have been imprisoned under charges broadly viewed as fabricated, while the rest are in exile.

International Condemnation

"By splitting the vote into stages, the authorities can change their approach if the results in the first phase do not go their way," noted Htin Kyaw Aye, a spokesman 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 regional bloc Asean has called for negotiations to precede any election.

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

"The election is being held for Myanmar. It is being held for the citizens of Myanmar. It is not intended for the outside world," a military representative told a news conference last week.

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