War-torn Burma Votes in Widely Criticised 'Sham' Election.

Myanmar is going to the polls in a electoral process widely dismissed as a farce, with key opposition groups dissolved, numerous figures imprisoned and as much as half of the country unable to participate because of an continuing civil war.

A Phased Ballot Amid War

The military government is conducting a phased ballot nearly half a decade after it took control in a coup, which sparked widespread opposition and escalated into a devastating conflict.

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

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

More than 200 people have been charged for disrupting or opposing the polls under a recently enacted legislation which imposes severe punishments, including the death penalty.

Director Mike Tee, performer Kyaw Win Htut and comedian Ohn Daing were among the prominent figures convicted under the law, which was enacted in July. They were each handed 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 said in a comment, pointing out that armed rebel groups have issued their own threats asking people to boycott 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 militias. It lost control of large parts of the country in a series of major setbacks, but regained territory this year after relentless airstrikes enabled by support from Beijing and Moscow.

All of this and the fact that significant regions of the country are still under rebel administration presents a massive operational hurdle for holding an election.

A Limited Vote

The ballot is set to take place in three phases over the next month in two hundred and seventy-four of the country's three hundred and thirty townships, with the remainder deemed too unstable. Results 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, some districts will hold elections, making it difficult to predict a possible turnout.

Six 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 scored decisive wins in 2015 and 2020, have been banned. Suu Kyi and a number of the party's senior figures have been imprisoned under charges broadly viewed as fabricated, while the rest are in exile.

International Condemnation

"By splitting the vote into stages, the junta can change their approach if the results in the initial round do not go their way," noted Htin Kyaw Aye, a representative of the watchdog group Spring Sprouts.

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

The Burmese junta has rejected condemnation of the polls, insisting that it aims to "restore a democracy with multiple parties".

"This vote is being held for our nation. It is being held for the people of this country. It is not intended for the international community," a junta spokesman told a briefing last week.

Military leader Min Aung Hlaing warned earlier this week that those who refuse to vote are rejecting "the path to democracy".