26 minutes agoShareSaveKelly NgandBBC Burmese,MandalayShareSaveEPAMyanmar is voting in an election widely dismissed as a sham, with major political parties dissolved, many of their leaders jailed and as much as half the country not expected to vote because of an ongoing civil war. The military government is holding a phased ballot nearly five years after it seized power in a coup, which sparked widespread opposition and spiralled into a civil war.Observers say the junta, with China’s support, is seeking to legitimise and entrench its power as it seeks a way out of the devastating stalemate.More than 200 people have been charged for disrupting or opposing the polls under a new law which carries severe punishments, including the death penalty.Polling began on Sunday and there were reports of explosions and airstrikes across multiple regions in the country as voting took place.Three people were taken to hospital following a rocket attack on an uninhabited house in the Mandalay region in the early hours of Sunday, the chief minister of the region confirmed to the BBC. One of those people is in a serious condition. Separately, more than ten houses were damaged in the Myawaddy township, near the border with Thailand, following a series of explosions late on Saturday.A local resident told the BBC that a child was killed in the attack, and three people were taken to hospital in an emergency condition.Further reports of casualties have emerged following other explosions.Voters have told the BBC that the election feels more “disciplined and systematic” than those previously. “The experience of voting has changed a lot,” said Ma Su ZarChi, who lives in the Mandalay region. “Before I voted, I was afraid. Now that I have voted, I feel relieved. I cast my ballot as someone who has tried their best for the country.”First-time voter Ei Pyay Phyo Maung, 22, told the BBC she was casting her ballot because she believed that voting is “the responsibility of every citizen”.”My hope is for the lower classes – right now, the prices of goods are skyrocketing, and I want to support someone who can bring them down for those struggling the most,” she said.”I want a president who provides equally for all people.”EPA/ShutterstockThe Burmese junta has rejected criticism of the polls, maintaining that it aims to “return [the country] to a multi-party democratic system”. After casting his vote at a highly fortified polling station in the capital, junta chief Min Aung Hlaing told the BBC that the election would be free and fair.”I am the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, a civil servant. I can’t just say that I want to be president,” he said, stressing that there are three phases of the election. Earlier this week, he warned that those who refuse to vote are rejecting “progress toward democracy”.Win Kyaw Thu/BBCFilm director Mike Tee, actor Kyaw Win Htut and comedian Ohn Daing were among the prominent figures convicted under the law against disrupting polls, which was enacted in July. They were each handed a seven-year jail term after criticising a film promoting the elections, state media reported.UN Special Rapporteur Tom Andrews on Sunday called on the international community to reject the election – saying “nothing legitimate” can come of it. “An election organised by a junta that continues to bomb civilians, jail political leaders, and criminalise all forms of dissent is not an election – it is a theatre of the absurd performed at gunpoint,” he said.The military has been fighting on several fronts, against both armed resistance groups who oppose the coup, as well as ethnic armies which have their own militias. It lost control of large parts of the country in a series of major setbacks, but clawed back territory this year following relentless airstrikes enabled by support from China and Russia. The civil war has killed thousands of people, displaced millions more, destroyed the economy and left a humanitarian vacuum. A devastating earthquake in March and international funding cuts have made the situation far worse. …
