War-torn Burma Goes to the Polls in Broadly Condemned Political Theater.

The nation is holding an election in a vote broadly rejected as a farce, with major political parties dissolved, numerous figures jailed and a significant portion of the country unlikely to vote because of an ongoing internal conflict.

A Staggered Vote Amid War

The military government is holding a phased ballot nearly five years after it seized power in a coup, which ignited widespread opposition and spiralled into a devastating conflict.

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

"There are no conditions for the exercise of the rights of freedom of expression, association or peaceful protest," the United Nations' top human rights official Volker Türk stated.

Over two hundred people have been charged for interfering with or opposing the election under a new law which imposes severe punishments, including the possibility of execution.

Director Mike Tee, performer Kyaw Win Htut and entertainer Ohn Daing were among the prominent figures found guilty under the law, which was enacted in July. They were each given a seven-year jail term after speaking out against 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 resistance forces have issued their own threats asking people to boycott 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 lost control of large parts 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 opposition control presents a huge operational hurdle 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 rest deemed not secure enough. Outcomes are expected by late 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 likely turnout.

Six parties, including the junta-supported Union Solidarity and Development Party, are fielding candidates nationwide, while another 51 parties and non-aligned contenders will contest only at the local levels.

Some 40 parties, 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 senior figures have been imprisoned under charges broadly viewed as politically motivated, while others are in hiding abroad.

International Condemnation

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

Western governments, including the United Kingdom and the EU legislature, have dismissed the vote as a pretence, while neighbouring group Asean has called for political dialogue to precede any election.

The Myanmar regime has dismissed criticism of the polls, maintaining that it aims to "return [the country] to a multi-party democratic system".

"This vote is being held for our nation. It is being held for the people of this country. It is not intended for the international community," a junta spokesman stated at a news conference last week.

Junta chief Min Aung Hlaing cautioned earlier this week that those who refuse to vote are turning their back on "progress toward democracy".