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

The nation is holding an election in a vote broadly rejected as a sham, with major political parties banned, many of their leaders imprisoned and a significant portion 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 took control in a takeover, which sparked massive protests and spiralled into a civil war.

Analysts note the junta, with China's support, is seeking to legitimise and consolidate its power as it seeks a way out of the devastating deadlock.

"There are no conditions for the exercise of the rights of freedom of expression, association or peaceful protest," the United Nations' top human rights official Volker Türk said.

Over two hundred people have been prosecuted for interfering with or opposing the election under a recently enacted legislation which imposes harsh penalties, including the possibility of execution.

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 promotional video endorsing the elections.

Immense Challenges and Pressure

Civilians are "being coerced from all sides," Mr Türk said in a comment, adding that resistance forces have made warnings asking people to shun the polls.

The army has been fighting on several fronts, against both armed resistance groups who reject 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 made possible through 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 logistical challenge for holding an election.

A Limited Vote

Voting is set to take place in three phases over the coming weeks in 274 of the country's 330 townships, with the remainder deemed not secure enough. Outcomes are expected by late January.

There is unlikely 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 difficult to forecast a possible turnout.

A handful of parties, including the junta-supported Union Solidarity and Development Party, are fielding candidates nationwide, while dozens more parties and non-aligned contenders will compete only at the local 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 senior figures have been imprisoned under charges widely condemned as politically motivated, while others are in exile.

Criticism and Rejection

"Through dividing the vote into phases, the junta can adjust tactics if the outcomes in the first phase do not go their way," noted Htin Kyaw Aye, a spokesman of the watchdog group Spring Sprouts.

Nations in the West, including the UK and the European Parliament, have dismissed the vote as a pretence, while regional bloc Asean has urged negotiations to precede any election.

The Myanmar regime has dismissed condemnation of the polls, insisting 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 junta spokesman stated at a briefing last week.

Junta chief Min Aung Hlaing warned earlier this week that those who choose not to participate are rejecting "the path to democracy".