War-torn Myanmar Votes in Widely Criticised Political Theater.

The nation is holding an election in a vote broadly rejected as a farce, with major political parties banned, many of their leaders jailed and a significant portion of the country unable to participate because of an ongoing internal conflict.

A Staggered Vote Amid Conflict

The military government is holding a staggered election nearly five years after it took control in a takeover, which sparked massive protests and spiralled into a civil war.

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

"The environment does not allow for the exercise of the rights of free speech, assembly or peaceful protest," the United Nations' top human rights official Volker Türk stated.

More than 200 people have been charged for disrupting or criticising the election under a new law 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 criticising a film promoting the elections.

Logistical Nightmare and Coercion

Civilians are "facing pressure from all sides," Mr Türk said in a statement, adding that resistance forces have made warnings asking people to boycott the polls.

The army has been fighting on several fronts, 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 series of major setbacks, but regained territory this year after sustained aerial bombardment enabled by support from Beijing and Moscow.

All of this and the fact that large parts of the country are still under rebel administration presents a massive 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 330 townships, with the rest deemed too unstable. Outcomes 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 difficult to forecast 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 independent candidates will contest 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 banned. Suu Kyi and many of the party's senior figures have been jailed under charges widely condemned as fabricated, while the rest are in exile.

International Condemnation

"By splitting the vote into phases, the authorities can adjust tactics if the results in the first phase do not go their way," noted Htin Kyaw Aye, a representative of the election-monitoring group Spring Sprouts.

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

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

"The election 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 cautioned earlier this week that those who refuse to vote are turning their back on "the path to democracy".