War-torn Myanmar Goes to the Polls in Broadly Condemned Political Theater.

The nation is holding an election in a electoral process widely dismissed as a sham, with major political parties dissolved, numerous figures imprisoned and a significant portion of the country unlikely to vote because of an continuing internal conflict.

A Staggered Vote Amid Conflict

The military government is conducting a phased ballot nearly half a decade after it took control in a takeover, which sparked massive protests and spiralled into a devastating conflict.

Analysts note the military regime, with China's support, is seeking to legitimise and consolidate its power as it looks for a way out of the devastating stalemate.

"There are no conditions for the practice of the freedoms of freedom of expression, association or peaceful protest," UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk said.

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

Film 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 handed a prison sentence of seven years after speaking out against a film promoting the elections.

Immense Challenges and Coercion

Civilians are "facing pressure from all sides," Mr Türk said in a comment, pointing out that resistance forces have issued their own threats urging people to shun the polls.

The army has been engaged on several fronts, against both armed resistance groups 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 series of major setbacks, but clawed back territory this year following sustained aerial bombardment made possible through support from Beijing and Moscow.

All of this and the fact that large parts of the country are still under opposition control presents a massive logistical challenge for conducting an election.

A Limited Vote

Voting is set to take place in three rounds over the next month in 274 of the country's three hundred and thirty townships, with the remainder deemed not secure enough. Outcomes are expected around the end of January.

There is not expected 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 challenging to predict a likely turnout.

A handful of parties, including the junta-supported Union Solidarity and Development Party, are running nominees nationwide, while dozens more parties and non-aligned contenders will compete 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 banned. Suu Kyi and many of the party's key leaders have been imprisoned under charges broadly viewed 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 first phase do not go their way," noted Htin Kyaw Aye, a spokesman of the election-monitoring group Spring Sprouts.

Western governments, including the United Kingdom and the European Parliament, have dismissed the vote as a sham, while neighbouring group Asean has urged political dialogue to precede any election.

The Myanmar regime has dismissed criticism of the polls, maintaining that it aims to "restore a multi-party democratic system".

"This vote is being held for our nation. It is being held for the people of this country. It is not intended for the outside world," a junta spokesman stated at a briefing last week.

Junta chief Min Aung Hlaing cautioned earlier this week that those who refuse to vote are turning their back on "progress toward democracy".