Myanmar is set to hold phased elections. Here's why they're being called a 'sham'

Myanmar is set to hold phased elections. Here's why they're being called a 'sham' Supporters of the military-backed Union Solidarity and Development Party wave the party flags during the first day of campaigning for the general election, in Naypyitaw, Myanmar, Oct. 28. Aung Shine Oo/AP hide caption toggle caption CHIANG RAI, Thailand - Myanmar's military rulers are planning a staggered general election beginning Dec. 28 and ending in late January. Their hope is that it will return some stability to the country and help end the junta's international diplomatic isolation. The vote will be taking place despite a brutal, ongoing civil war that followed the military's 2021 coup , plunging the country into chaos. Since then, the military has indiscriminately bombed civilians, thrown tens of thousands in jail and left millions more displaced. Aid agencies say more than 11 million people are facing food insecurity amid the backdrop of a military trying to claw back large swaths of territory captured by the opposition since the coup. "Is there anyone who believes that there will be free and fair elections in Myanmar?" asked United Nations Secretary General António Guterres at a summit of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations in Malaysia in late October. "It is quite obvious that in the present state of conflict and taking into account the records of human rights of the military junta ... that the conditions for free and fair elections are not there." To ensure the elections go its way, the military has introduced a new law that bans what it calls "interference" in the election process. A woman rides past campaign billboards ahead of Myanmar's general election in Pyin Oo Lwin in Myanmar's Mandalay region. Myanmar's military has promised a phased election to begin Dec. 28. SAI AUNG MAIN/AFP via Getty Images hide caption toggle caption Human Rights Watch said in November that nearly 100 people had been detained under the law . By last week, the military said that number had more than doubled , some charged for posting on social media criticizing the election process, or even just 'liking' someone else's post. Several are facing lengthy prison terms for questioning an election even military leader Min Aung Hlaing admits won't be held in many contested or rebel held areas, which is almost half the country. Most Western governments have refused to send observers, denouncing the election as a " sham ." Critics say the military is trying to create a parliament dominated by the military's proxy party, the Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP). It's the same party that was savaged by Aung San Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy (NLD) in the last election in 2020 - which set the stage for the February 2021 coup. The NLD is banned this time around. Suu Kyi and other party leaders remain in prison. "For all I know, she could be dead," her son Kim Aris recently told Reuters . And the regime has pushed hard in recent months to retake territory...

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