Conflict-ravaged Myanmar Goes to the Polls in Broadly Condemned Political Theater.

The nation is holding an election in a vote widely dismissed as a sham, with major political parties dissolved, numerous figures imprisoned and as much as half of the country unlikely to vote because of an ongoing civil war.

A Staggered Vote Amid Conflict

The ruling junta is holding a staggered election nearly half a decade after it seized power in a coup, which ignited massive protests and escalated into a devastating conflict.

Analysts note the junta, with backing from Beijing, is seeking to legitimise and entrench its power as it looks for a way out of the devastating deadlock.

"There are no conditions for the practice of the freedoms of free speech, assembly or peaceful protest," the United Nations' top human rights official Volker Türk said.

Over two hundred people have been prosecuted for disrupting or criticising 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 prominent figures found guilty under the law, which was passed in July. They were each handed a seven-year jail term after criticising a film promoting the elections.

Immense Challenges and Pressure

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

The military has been fighting on multiple battlefields, against both pro-democracy fighters 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 series of major setbacks, but regained territory this year following 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 conducting an election.

A Limited Vote

Voting is set to take place in three phases over the coming weeks in 274 of the country's three hundred and thirty townships, with the remainder deemed too unstable. 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 challenging to forecast a likely turnout.

A handful of parties, including the military-backed 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 scored decisive wins in 2015 and 2020, have been banned. Suu Kyi and many of the party's key leaders have been jailed under charges broadly viewed as fabricated, while the rest are in exile.

International Condemnation

"Through dividing the vote into phases, 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.

Nations in the West, including the United Kingdom and the European Parliament, have dismissed the vote as a pretence, while neighbouring group Asean has urged negotiations to come before 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 Myanmar. It is being held for the people of Myanmar. It is not intended for the outside world," a military representative told a briefing last week.

Junta chief Min Aung Hlaing cautioned earlier this week that those who choose not to participate are turning their back on "progress toward democracy".