Myanmar will hold its first general election in 5 years as criticism of military rule mounts
The military has framed the polls as a return to multi-party democracy, likely seeking to add a facade of legitimacy to its rule, which began after the army four years ago ousted the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi.
Bangkok: Myanmar will hold the first phase of a general election on Sunday, its first vote in five years and an exercise that critics say will neither restore the country's fragile democracy undone by a 2021 army takeover, nor end a devastating civil war triggered by the nation's harsh military rule.
The military has framed the polls as a return to multi-party democracy, likely seeking to add a facade of legitimacy to its rule, which began after the army four years ago ousted the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi.
The takeover triggered widespread popular opposition that has grown into a civil war. The fighting has complicated holding the polls in many contested areas.
Voting will be held in different parts of the country in three phases, with the second on Jan. 11 and the third on Jan. 25.
Human rights and opposition groups say the vote will be neither free nor fair and that power is likely to remain in the hands of military leader Senior Gen. Min Aung Hlaing.
Critics doubt a real transition to civilian rule
Richard Horsey, a Myanmar analyst for the International Crisis Group, noted that the vote is being run by the same military that was behind the 2021 coup.
"These elections are not credible at all," he told The Associated Press. "They do not include any of the political parties that did well in the last election or the election before."
Horsey says the military's strategy is for its favored Union Solidarity and Development Party to win in a landslide, shifting Myanmar from direct military rule to a government with a "civilian veneer" that perpetuates army control.
That would allow the military to claim that holding the election showed progress towards inclusiveness in the spirit of a peace proposal by the 11-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations, that calls for "constructive dialogue among all parties concerned" so they can "seek a peaceful solution in the interests of the people."
It would also provide an excuse for neighbors like China, India and Thailand to continue their support, which they contend promotes stability in Myanmar.
Western nations have maintained sanctions against Myanmar's ruling generals because of their anti-democratic actions and brutal war on their opponents.
The army seized power on Feb. 1, 2021, claiming the 2020 election - won in a landslide by Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy - was illegitimate because of alleged large-scale voter registration irregularities. Independent observers, however, found no major problems.
On Sunday, ballots will be cast in 102 of the country's 330 townships. Further rounds will follow on Jan. 11 and Jan. 25, leaving 65 townships where there would be no voting because of the ongoing conflict with ethnic guerrilla groups and resistance forces.