War-torn Myanmar Goes to the Polls in Broadly Condemned 'Sham' Election.

Myanmar is going to the polls in a vote broadly rejected as a sham, with key opposition groups dissolved, numerous figures jailed and as much as half of the country unlikely to vote because of an ongoing civil war.

A Staggered Vote Amid Conflict

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

Observers say the military regime, with China's support, is attempting to validate and entrench its power as it looks for a way out of the costly stalemate.

"The environment does not allow for the practice of the freedoms of free speech, assembly or peaceful assembly," 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 new law which carries severe punishments, including the possibility of execution.

Film director Mike Tee, actor Kyaw Win Htut and comedian Ohn Daing were among the well-known individuals convicted under the law, which was enacted in July. They were each given a seven-year jail term after criticising a promotional video promoting the elections.

Logistical Nightmare and Pressure

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

The army has been fighting on several fronts, against both pro-democracy fighters who oppose the coup, as well as ethnic armies which have their own forces. It ceded territory of vast areas of the country in a string of defeats, but clawed back territory this year after relentless airstrikes enabled by support from China and Russia.

All of this and the fact that significant regions of the country are still under rebel administration presents a huge operational hurdle for holding an election.

A Limited Vote

Voting is set to take place in three rounds over the coming weeks in 274 of the country's 330 townships, with the remainder deemed not secure enough. 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, some districts will go to the polls, making it difficult to predict a likely turnout.

A handful of parties, including the junta-supported Union Solidarity and Development Party, are fielding candidates nationwide, while dozens more parties and independent candidates will compete only at the local levels.

Approximately forty groups, including Aung San Suu Kyi's National League of Democracy, which achieved landslide victories 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 fabricated, while others are in hiding abroad.

International Condemnation

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

Western governments, including the UK and the EU legislature, have dismissed the vote as a sham, while regional bloc Asean has called for political dialogue to precede any election.

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

"The election is being held for our nation. It is being held for the people of Myanmar. It is not intended for the international community," a military representative stated at a briefing last week.

Military leader Min Aung Hlaing warned earlier this week that those who choose not to participate are turning their back on "the path to democracy".