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

The nation is holding an election in a electoral process broadly rejected as a sham, with key opposition groups banned, numerous figures jailed and as much as half of the country unable to participate because of an continuing internal conflict.

A Phased Ballot Amid War

The ruling junta is conducting a staggered election nearly five years after it took control in a coup, which ignited widespread opposition and spiralled into a civil war.

Observers say the military regime, with China's support, is attempting to validate and consolidate its power as it seeks a way out of the costly deadlock.

"There are no conditions for the exercise of the rights of free speech, association or peaceful assembly," the United Nations' top human rights official Volker Türk stated.

More than 200 people have been prosecuted for disrupting or criticising the election under a recently enacted legislation which imposes harsh penalties, including the possibility of execution.

Director Mike Tee, performer Kyaw Win Htut and comedian Ohn Daing were among the prominent figures convicted under the law, which was passed in July. They were each given a seven-year jail term after speaking out against a promotional video promoting the elections.

Logistical Nightmare and Coercion

Civilians are "facing pressure from all sides," Mr Türk noted in a statement, pointing out that resistance forces have made warnings urging people to shun the polls.

The military 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 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 large parts of the country are still under rebel administration presents a huge operational hurdle for holding an election.

A Restricted Poll

Voting is set to take place in three phases over the next month in two hundred and seventy-four of the country's 330 townships, with the remainder deemed too unstable. Results are expected by late January.

There is not expected to be any voting in as much as one half of the country. Even in the townships that are voting, some districts will go to the polls, making it challenging to predict 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 independent candidates will compete only at the local levels.

Some 40 parties, 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 key leaders have been jailed under charges widely condemned as fabricated, while the rest are in hiding abroad.

International Condemnation

"By splitting the vote into phases, the authorities can change their approach if the results in the initial round 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 EU legislature, have rejected the vote as a sham, while regional bloc Asean has called for political dialogue to come before any election.

The Burmese junta has dismissed criticism of the polls, maintaining that it aims to "return [the country] to a democracy with multiple parties".

"This vote is being held for our nation. It is being held for the citizens of Myanmar. It is not being held 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 turning their back on "the path to democracy".