There are strong fears among ethnic groups in particular that the junta's exercise in participatory democracy is nothing but a sham
Authorities in Thailand, Malaysia and as far away as Australia are bracing themselves for a wave of refugees from Burma, where pre-election bullying of ethnic groups by the ruling junta has prompted thousands to vote with their feet.
Hardest hit is the country's Muslim population, and Temme Lee, refugee co-ordinator at the Malaysian human rights organisation Suaram, said Kachin, Karen and Chin had also joined the cross-border march.
"There have also been reports of people heading across the border and into China," she told Spectrum. "There is a lot of pressure on the communities."
Among those who fled Burma is Hamid bin Hatin, a 17-year-old Burmese Muslim. Bin Hatin was being press-ganged into the Burmese military, where he would be forced to perform menial labour and spend years away from his home and parents in Rakhine, on the country's west coast.
He spent almost $US1,000 (32,380 baht) on agent fees getting to Thailand and then Malaysia, where he spent two months sleeping on a cement floor in a detention camp and was beaten by fellow inmates.
In Malaysia - a favourite transit destination for Burmese Muslims alongside Bangladesh - bin Hatin was rescued by Hla Thant of the Myanmar Muslim Welfare Committee, which tends to the needs of refugees and migrants from the 20-odd Muslim groups in Burma. These include the Rohingya, whose attempts to leave Burma by boat via Thai waters led to criticism of Thai authorities' alleged inhumane handling of the refugees.
"Nothing is changing," Hla Thant said. "Things really will get worse after the election. People are being forced to vote."
About 40 parties have registered for the upcoming poll, substantially less than the 235 parties that registered for national elections 20 years ago. All political parties are required to field candidates for a national legislature, which will have an upper and lower house - and for a regional/state legislature.
A quarter of the seats have been reserved for the military.
"Everybody must vote for the military or they will be arrested. A lot of violence will happen," Hla Thant told Spectrum from his small office in the outer suburbs of Kuala Lumpur.
With thousands of refugees filling camps in Malaysia and Thailand, and a tightening of Australia's immigration policy, there are fewer avenues for Burmese looking for an exit.
Australia's crackdown on illegal immigration has added substantially to a build-up of asylum seekers in detention camps in Malaysia and Indonesia. Refugee advocates are calling for a reassessment on how to care for migrants.
The streets of Chow Kit, a suburb of Kuala Lumpur - with cheap hotels, Afghan food stalls and a Pakistan-affiliated mosque - were once popular for human smugglers and migrants seeking illegal passage to Australia.
According to human rights groups, diplomats and the imam of the Pakistan Mosque, the number of smugglers and passengers has fallen dramatically since April. That is when the Australian government suspended the processing of visa applications for asylum seekers from Afghanistan and Sri Lanka, forcing human smugglers to point their Australia-bound cargo elsewhere.
Canberra recently lifted the ban on Sri Lankans, but the Burmese could be among the first candidates for a proposed regional approach put forward by Australia's new Prime Minister Julia Gillard, who reportedly has been considering the construction of new centres outside Australia for processing refugees and asylum seekers.
Ms Gillard says she does not want a return to the previous hardline immigration programme, in particular that of her conservative predecessor John Howard, although she also says she is sympathetic to those who worry about Australia's crowded suburbs being overrun by new arrivals.
"For people to say they are anxious about border security doesn't make them intolerant. It certainly doesn't make them a racist," she said recently. "By the same token, people who express concern about children being in detention, that doesn't mean they're soft on border protection, that just means that they're expressing a real human concern."
Still, Ms Gillard's comments have refugee advocates concerned.
While improved co-operation between Australia, Malaysia and Indonesia has been cited as a significant factor in curbing people smuggling and illegal immigration, this is cold comfort for the likes of bin Hatin and others seeking refuge from the belligerent junta.
"Asylum seekers usually end up in detention centres for month and months," said Ms Lee of Suaram.
"For us it's quite irresponsible of the Australian government to only emphasise the security measures taken by the Malaysian government, but seemingly not to address at all protection issues for these asylum seekers and refugees. And that is definitely problematic."
A problem that could worsen significantly in the lead-up to and after the Burmese election.
No official date has been set, but most observers believe the junta will hold its first elections in 20 years on Oct 10, as it is considered an auspicious date among the country's leaders.
Critics argue the elections will be a sham, while optimists are hoping the poll will signal a return to civilian rule and perhaps a slight opening of the country to the outside world.
Opposition leader and Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi and her National League for Democracy (NDL) easily won the 1990 election - a result that proved unacceptable for the military - but neither will be contesting this poll.
A larger uncertainty, however, is the role of the ethnic communities.
More than 30 ethnic armed groups have launched insurgencies against the central government in Rangoon over the past 60 years, and more recently the junta has managed to reach a ceasefire of sorts among some with mixed results.
Agreements were sought in the run-up to the poll through a shrewd combination of co-opting ethnic leaders through offers of economic concessions and outright thuggery.
The military has told these groups to join the armed Border Guard Force (BGF), which will come under its control.
In doing this, the political wing of a ceasefire group would then be allowed to contest the elections.
The largest ethnic group not on the ceasefire list is the Karen National Union, with whom the Burmese army continues to clash. Other non-ceasefire armies include the Shan State Army-South and the Karenni National Progressive Party.
Negotiations to persuade the most powerful and feared ceasefire force, the 20,000 strong United Wa State Army (UWSA), to join the BGF have stalled.
Many civilians who fled areas controlled by the UWSA in Shan state earlier this year in the expectation of a major Burmese army campaign have since returned, said Gavin Greenwood, a regional security analyst with Hong Kong-based Allan & Associates.
He also said military campaigns against the Shan and Kachin guerrillas who refused to accept the ceasefire with the junta have been scaled back.
The government appears to prioritise gaining a high degree of electoral support for its candidates as its principal strategic objective for 2010, Mr Greenwood said.
However, the number of people leaving the country continues to rise.
Human rights advocates say Burmese migrants are now the third largest ethnic group occupying the cramped detention centre on Australia's Christmas Island, after Afghans and Sri Lankans.
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