Conflict-ravaged Myanmar Goes to the Polls in Widely Criticised 'Sham' Election.

The nation is holding an election in a vote broadly rejected as a farce, with major political parties banned, numerous figures jailed and as much as half of the country unlikely to vote because of an continuing internal conflict.

A Phased Ballot Amid Conflict

The ruling junta is conducting a phased ballot nearly half a decade after it seized power in a takeover, which sparked massive protests and spiralled into a devastating conflict.

Analysts note the military regime, with China's support, is attempting to validate and entrench its power as it seeks a way out of the costly deadlock.

"The environment does not allow for the exercise 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 opposing the polls under a recently enacted legislation which carries severe punishments, including the death penalty.

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 prison sentence of seven years after criticising a promotional video promoting the elections.

Immense Challenges and Pressure

Civilians are "facing pressure from all sides," Mr Türk noted in a statement, adding that resistance forces have issued their own threats asking people to shun the polls.

The military has been fighting on multiple battlefields, against both pro-democracy fighters who oppose the coup, as well as ethnic armies which have their own forces. It lost control of vast areas of the country in a string of defeats, but clawed back territory this year after 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 rebel administration presents a huge logistical challenge for holding an election.

A Limited Vote

Voting is set to take place in three phases over the next month in 274 of the country's 330 townships, with the rest deemed too unstable. 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 hold elections, making it challenging to predict a possible turnout.

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

Approximately forty groups, including Aung San Suu Kyi's National League of Democracy, which scored landslide victories in 2015 and 2020, have been dissolved. Suu Kyi and a number of the party's senior figures have been jailed under charges widely condemned as politically motivated, while others are in exile.

International Condemnation

"Through dividing the vote into stages, the junta can change their approach if the outcomes in the initial round do not go their way," noted Htin Kyaw Aye, a spokesman of the watchdog group Spring Sprouts.

Nations in the West, including the United Kingdom and the EU legislature, have rejected the vote as a pretence, while regional bloc Asean has urged political dialogue to come before any election.

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

"The election is being held for Myanmar. It is being held for the citizens of this country. It is not being held for the outside world," a junta spokesman stated at a briefing last week.

Junta chief Min Aung Hlaing warned earlier this week that those who refuse to vote are turning their back on "the path to democracy".