Myanmar to Hold Staged Elections Amidst Ongoing Conflict

Bangkok, Aug 18 (AP) — Myanmar's military-installed election commission has announced that elections will commence on December 28. However, critics argue that these polls are a facade, aiming to legitimize the military's 2021 power grab in a nation where ongoing conflict persists.

The Union Election Commission informed journalists on Monday that the elections will be carried out in phases over several days, with a complete schedule forthcoming.

According to a separate statement in the state-managed Myanma Alinn newspaper over the weekend, all 330 townships in Myanmar have been set as constituencies for the election, signifying an attempt at comprehensive electoral coverage.

Nearly 60 parties, including the military-endorsed Union Solidarity and Development Party, are set to participate, as listed on the election commission's website.

However, questions remain on how elections will proceed in various regions not governed by the military but instead controlled by pro-democracy forces or ethnic minority insurgents, with much of the country engulfed in civil unrest.

Opposition groups, including armed resistance factions, have already pledged to disrupt the elections.

Last month, the military government introduced a new electoral law threatening severe penalties, even the death sentence, for individuals opposing or interfering with the electoral process.

Skeptics claim that the forthcoming elections will lack fairness and legitimacy, citing the absence of a free press and the arrest of most leaders from the National League for Democracy led by Aung San Suu Kyi, which won a landslide victory in 2020 before the military coup.

Suu Kyi, now 80, is serving sentences totaling 27 years on charges widely regarded as politically motivated by the military.

The military justified its coup over supposed large-scale fraud in the 2020 elections, a claim dismissed by independent observers who reported no significant irregularities.

The coup sparked massive public dissent, leading to armed resistance and conflict across much of the nation. Although the military has cited elections as a primary goal, it has delayed setting a date multiple times.

The current security conditions threaten the feasibility of elections, with the military believed to hold control over less than half the country. It had previously announced phased elections in territories under its influence.

Recently, the military has intensified operations, including ground assaults and airstrikes, attempting to reclaim areas held by opposition before elections. Reports indicate a rise in airstrikes resulting in civilian casualties.

On a recent Sunday, an airstrike reportedly killed at least 24 people and injured others when the military bombed a hospital in Mawchi, Kayah state, with the town known for wolfram and tungsten mining.

In another incident, an air raid on Thursday allegedly killed at least 21 individuals, including an expectant mother, in Mogok, a center for Myanmar's gem trade. Though these incidents remain unverified by the army, it typically claims its targets are legitimate and labels resistance groups as terrorists. (AP)

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