War-torn Burma Votes in Broadly Condemned 'Sham' Election.

Myanmar is going to the polls in a vote widely dismissed as a farce, with key opposition groups dissolved, many of their leaders jailed and as much as half of the country unlikely to vote because of an continuing civil war.

A Phased Ballot Amid War

The ruling junta is conducting a phased ballot nearly five years after it took control in a takeover, which ignited widespread opposition and escalated into a civil war.

Analysts note the military regime, with backing from Beijing, is attempting to validate and entrench its power as it looks for a way out of the devastating deadlock.

"There are no conditions for the practice of the rights of free speech, assembly or peaceful protest," the United Nations' top human rights official Volker Türk said.

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

Film director Mike Tee, performer Kyaw Win Htut and comedian Ohn Daing were among the well-known individuals found guilty under the law, which was passed in July. They were each handed a seven-year jail term after speaking out against a promotional video endorsing the elections.

Immense Challenges and Pressure

Civilians are "being coerced from all sides," Mr Türk said in a comment, pointing out that armed rebel groups have issued their own threats asking 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 armed organisations which have their own forces. It lost control of vast areas of the country in a string of defeats, but regained territory this year following sustained aerial bombardment enabled by 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 conducting an election.

A Restricted Poll

The ballot is set to take place in three rounds over the coming weeks in 274 of the country's three hundred and thirty 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, not all constituencies will hold elections, making it difficult to predict a likely turnout.

Six parties, including the military-backed Union Solidarity and Development Party, are fielding candidates nationwide, while dozens more parties and independent candidates will contest only at the state or regional levels.

Approximately forty groups, including Aung San Suu Kyi's National League of Democracy, which scored decisive wins 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 the rest are in hiding abroad.

International Condemnation

"By splitting the vote into stages, the authorities can adjust tactics if the results in the initial round do not go their way," commented Htin Kyaw Aye, a spokesman of the watchdog group Spring Sprouts.

Nations in the West, including the UK and the European Parliament, have rejected the vote as a sham, while regional bloc Asean has called for negotiations to come before any election.

The Myanmar regime has rejected condemnation of the polls, maintaining that it aims to "restore a democracy with multiple parties".

"This vote is being held for Myanmar. It is being held for the citizens of Myanmar. It is not being held for the international community," a military representative told a briefing last week.

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