YANGON – Voters went to the polls Sunday for the initial phase of Myanmar ’s first general election in five years, held under the supervision of its military government while a civil war rages throughout much of the country.

Final results will not be known until after two more rounds of voting are completed later in January. It is widely expected that Min Aung Hlaing, the general who has ruled the country with an iron hand since an army takeover in 2021, will then assume the presidency.

The military government has presented the vote as a return to electoral democracy, but its bid for legitimacy is marred by bans on formerly popular opposition parties and reports that soldiers have used threats to force voters to participate.

While more than 4,800 candidates from 57 parties are competing for seats in national and regional legislatures, only six are competing nationwide with the possibility to gain political clout in Parliament. The well-organized and funded Union Solidarity and Development Party, with its support from the military, is by far the strongest contender.

Voting is taking place in three phases, with Sunday’s first round being held in 102 of Myanmar’s 330 townships. The second phase will take place Jan. 11, and the third on Jan. 25. Final results are expected to be announced by February.

Critics call the election a sham to keep the army in power

Critics charge that the election is designed to add a facade of legitimacy to military rule that began when the military ousted the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi in February 2021. It blocked her National League for Democracy party from serving a second term despite winning a landslide victory in the 2020 election.

They argue that the results will lack legitimacy due to the exclusion of major parties and limits on freedom of speech and an atmosphere of repression.

The expected victory of the military-backed Union Solidarity and Development Party makes the nominal transition to civilian rule a chimera, say opponents of military rule and independent analysts.

“An election organized by a junta that continues to bomb civilians, jail political leaders, and criminalize all forms of dissent is not an election — it is a theater of the absurd performed at gunpoint,” Tom Andrews, the U.N.-appointed human rights expert for Myanmar, posted on X.

However, holding the election may provide an excuse for neighbors like China, India and Thailand to continue their support, claiming the election promotes stability. Western nations have maintained sanctions against Myanmar’s ruling generals due to their anti-democratic actions and the brutal war against their opponents.

Voters on Saturday expressed mixed feelings.

Khin Marlar, 51, who voted at a polling station in Yangon’s Kyauktada township, said she felt she needed to vote because she hoped that peace would follow afterward. She explained that she had fled her village in the town of Thaungta in the central Mandalay region due to the fighting.

“I am voting with the feeling that I will go back to my village when it is peaceful,” she told The Associated Press.

Some voters feel pressured by the army

A resident of southern Mon state, who asked to be identified only by her first name, Khin, for fear of arrest by the military, told The Associated Press she felt compelled to go to a polling station because of pressure from local authorities.

“I have to go and vote even though I don’t want to, because soldiers showed up with guns to our village to pressure us yesterday,” Khin said. There were reports ahead of the voting from independent media and rights groups that officials and the military used such threats to compel people to vote.

Suu Kyi, Myanmar’s 80-year-old former leader, and her party are not participating in the polls. She is serving a 27-year prison term on charges widely viewed as spurious and politically motivated. Her party, the National League for Democracy, was dissolved in 2023 after refusing to register under new military rules.

Other parties also refused to register or declined to run under conditions they deem unfair, and opposition groups have called for a voter boycott.

Amael Vier, an analyst for the Asian Network for Free Elections, noted a lack of genuine choice, pointing out that 73% of voters in 2020 cast ballots for parties that no longer exist.

War and repression shape the vote

Mobilizing opposition is difficult under the military’s repression. According to the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners, more than 22,000 people are currently detained for political offenses, and over 7,600 civilians have been killed by security forces since they seized power in 2021.

Armed resistance arose after the army used lethal force to crush non-violent protests against its 2021 takeover. The ensuing civil war has left more than 3.6 million people displaced, according to the U.N.

A new Election Protection Law imposes harsh penalties and restrictions for virtually all public criticism of the polls.

In these circumstances, both the military and its opponents believe power is likely to remain with Senior Gen. Min Aung Hlaing, who led the 2021 seizure of power.

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Associated Press writer Peck reported from Bangkok.