Conflict-ravaged Burma Goes to the Polls in Widely Criticised 'Sham' Election.

The nation is holding an election in a electoral process widely dismissed as a sham, with major political parties 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 conducting a phased ballot nearly half a decade after it took control in a coup, which sparked widespread opposition and escalated into a civil war.

Observers say the junta, with China's support, 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 practice of the freedoms of freedom of expression, association or peaceful assembly," UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk stated.

More than 200 people have been charged for interfering with or criticising the election under a recently enacted legislation which carries severe punishments, including the death penalty.

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

Logistical Nightmare and Coercion

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

The army has been engaged on multiple battlefields, against both armed resistance groups who oppose the coup, as well as ethnic armies which have their own forces. It lost control 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 large parts of the country are still under rebel administration presents a huge logistical challenge for conducting 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 330 townships, with the remainder deemed too unstable. Results are expected around the end of 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 forecast a possible turnout.

Six parties, including the military-backed Union Solidarity and Development Party, are fielding candidates 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 scored landslide victories 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 fabricated, while others are in hiding abroad.

International Condemnation

"Through dividing the vote into phases, 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.

Western governments, including the United Kingdom and the European Parliament, have rejected the vote as a pretence, 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 democracy with multiple parties".

"The election is being held for our nation. It is being held for the citizens of this country. It is not intended for the outside world," a military representative stated at a news conference last week.

Junta chief Min Aung Hlaing cautioned earlier this week that those who choose not to participate are turning their back on "progress toward democracy".