War-torn Myanmar Votes in Widely Criticised Political Theater.

Myanmar is going to the polls in a vote broadly rejected as a sham, with key opposition groups dissolved, many of their leaders jailed and as much as half of the country unable to participate because of an continuing civil war.

A Phased Ballot Amid Conflict

The military government is conducting a staggered election nearly half a decade after it seized power in a coup, which ignited widespread opposition and escalated into a civil war.

Analysts note the military regime, with China's support, is seeking to legitimise and consolidate its power as it seeks a way out of the devastating stalemate.

"There are no conditions for the practice of the freedoms of freedom of expression, association or peaceful protest," UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk stated.

Over two hundred people have been charged for interfering with or criticising the election under a new law 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 passed in July. They were each handed a prison sentence of seven years after speaking out against a promotional video endorsing the elections.

Immense Challenges and Coercion

Civilians are "facing pressure from all sides," Mr Türk noted in a statement, pointing out that armed rebel groups have issued their own threats urging people to boycott the polls.

The military has been engaged on multiple battlefields, against both armed resistance groups who oppose the coup, as well as ethnic armed organisations which have their own militias. It lost control of vast areas of the country in a series of major setbacks, 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 rebel administration presents a huge logistical challenge for holding an election.

A Limited Vote

The ballot is set to take place in three rounds over the next month in 274 of the country's 330 townships, with the remainder 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, some districts will hold elections, making it difficult to predict a possible turnout.

Six parties, including the junta-supported Union Solidarity and Development Party, are running nominees nationwide, while dozens more 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 achieved landslide victories in 2015 and 2020, have been banned. Suu Kyi and a number of the party's key leaders have been imprisoned under charges broadly viewed as fabricated, while the rest are in hiding abroad.

International Condemnation

"Through dividing the vote into phases, the authorities can change their approach if the outcomes in the initial round do not go their way," commented Htin Kyaw Aye, a representative of the election-monitoring group Spring Sprouts.

Western governments, including the UK and the EU legislature, have rejected the vote as a pretence, while regional bloc Asean has urged political dialogue to precede any election.

The Myanmar regime has dismissed criticism 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 people of Myanmar. It is not intended for the outside world," a junta spokesman told a news conference last week.

Junta chief Min Aung Hlaing cautioned earlier this week that those who choose not to participate are rejecting "the path to democracy".