Conflict-ravaged Myanmar Votes in Widely Criticised 'Sham' Election.

Myanmar is going to the polls in a electoral process broadly rejected as a sham, with key opposition groups dissolved, many of their leaders imprisoned and as much as half of the country unlikely to vote because of an ongoing internal conflict.

A Phased Ballot Amid Conflict

The military government is conducting a staggered election nearly half a decade after it seized power in a takeover, which ignited massive protests and escalated into a devastating conflict.

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

"The environment does not allow 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 prosecuted for disrupting or opposing the election under a recently enacted legislation which carries severe punishments, including the possibility of execution.

Film director Mike Tee, actor Kyaw Win Htut and comedian 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 criticising a promotional video promoting the elections.

Logistical Nightmare and Pressure

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

The army has been fighting 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 large parts of the country in a string of defeats, but clawed back territory this year following relentless airstrikes 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 operational hurdle for holding an election.

A Restricted Poll

Voting 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 rest deemed not secure enough. Results are expected by late January.

There is unlikely to be any voting in as much as one half of the country. Even in the townships that are voting, not all constituencies will go to the polls, making it challenging to forecast a possible turnout.

A handful of parties, including the junta-supported Union Solidarity and Development Party, are running nominees nationwide, while another 51 parties and independent candidates will contest only at the state or regional levels.

Some 40 parties, including Aung San Suu Kyi's National League of Democracy, which achieved 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 fabricated, while the rest are in hiding abroad.

International Condemnation

"Through dividing the vote into stages, the authorities 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.

Nations in the West, including the UK and the EU legislature, have dismissed the vote as a pretence, while neighbouring group Asean has urged political dialogue to precede any election.

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

"The election is being held for Myanmar. It is being held for the citizens of this country. It is not intended for the outside world," a military representative told a briefing last week.

Military leader Min Aung Hlaing warned earlier this week that those who choose not to participate are rejecting "progress toward democracy".