Conflict-ravaged Myanmar Goes to the Polls in Broadly Condemned Political Theater.

Myanmar is going to the polls in a vote broadly rejected as a farce, with key opposition groups dissolved, many of their leaders imprisoned and a significant portion of the country unable to participate because of an continuing internal conflict.

A Staggered Vote Amid War

The ruling junta is holding a staggered election nearly half a decade after it seized power in a takeover, which ignited massive protests and spiralled into a civil war.

Analysts note the junta, with backing from Beijing, is seeking to legitimise and consolidate its power as it seeks a way out of the costly stalemate.

"The environment does not allow for the exercise of the freedoms of freedom of expression, assembly or peaceful protest," UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk said.

Over two hundred people have been charged for disrupting or criticising the election under a new law which imposes severe punishments, including the death penalty.

Director Mike Tee, actor Kyaw Win Htut and comedian 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 speaking out against a promotional video endorsing the elections.

Logistical Nightmare and Coercion

Civilians are "being coerced from all sides," Mr Türk said in a comment, pointing out that armed rebel groups have made warnings asking people to shun the polls.

The army has been engaged on several fronts, against both armed resistance groups who reject the coup, as well as ethnic armed organisations which have their own forces. It ceded territory of large parts of the country in a string of defeats, but regained territory this year following relentless airstrikes enabled by support from China and Russia.

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

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 rest deemed not secure enough. Results 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, not all constituencies will hold elections, making it difficult to predict a possible turnout.

Six 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.

Some 40 parties, including Aung San Suu Kyi's National League of Democracy, which achieved landslide victories in 2015 and 2020, have been dissolved. Suu Kyi and many of the party's key leaders have been jailed under charges broadly viewed as politically motivated, while others are in hiding abroad.

International Condemnation

"By splitting the vote into stages, the junta can adjust tactics if the outcomes in the first phase do not go their way," commented Htin Kyaw Aye, a representative of the election-monitoring group Spring Sprouts.

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

The Burmese junta has rejected criticism of the polls, insisting 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 citizens of this country. It is not intended for the international community," a military representative told a news conference last week.

Military leader Min Aung Hlaing cautioned earlier this week that those who choose not to participate are turning their back on "the path to democracy".