War-torn Burma Votes in Widely Criticised 'Sham' Election.

The nation is holding an election in a electoral process widely dismissed as a sham, with key opposition groups dissolved, many of their leaders imprisoned and as much as half of the country unable to participate because of an ongoing civil war.

A Staggered Vote Amid War

The ruling junta is conducting a phased ballot nearly five years after it seized power in a takeover, which ignited massive protests and spiralled into a civil war.

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

"There are no conditions for the practice of the freedoms of freedom of expression, association or peaceful assembly," the United Nations' top human rights official Volker Türk said.

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

Director Mike Tee, performer Kyaw Win Htut and entertainer Ohn Daing were among the prominent figures convicted under the law, which was passed in July. They were each given a seven-year jail term after speaking out against a film endorsing the elections.

Immense Challenges and Coercion

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

The military 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 clawed back territory this year following sustained aerial bombardment made possible through support from China and Russia.

All of this and the fact that large parts of the country are still under opposition control presents a massive operational hurdle for holding an election.

A Limited Vote

The ballot is set to take place in three phases over the next month in 274 of the country's three hundred and thirty townships, with the rest deemed too unstable. 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 hold elections, making it difficult to predict a possible turnout.

Six parties, including the military-backed Union Solidarity and Development Party, are fielding candidates nationwide, while another 51 parties and independent candidates will compete only at the state or regional 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 a number of the party's key leaders have been jailed under charges widely condemned as politically motivated, while others are in hiding abroad.

International Condemnation

"Through dividing the vote into stages, the junta can change their approach 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.

Nations in the West, including the United Kingdom and the European Parliament, have rejected the vote as a sham, while neighbouring group Asean has urged negotiations to come before any election.

The Myanmar regime has dismissed criticism of the polls, insisting that it aims to "restore a democracy with multiple parties".

"This vote is being held for our nation. It is being held for the citizens of Myanmar. It is not being held for the international community," 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 turning their back on "the path to democracy".