![]() ![]() ![]() There are also other threats to the progressive movement’s win. In 2019, coup leader Prayut Chan-o-cha won the senate votes which ensured his party’s coalition gained enough seats to elect him as prime minister, despite Pheu Thai being the largest party. Under the junta-era constitution, Thailand’s unelected 250-seat senate is chosen entirely by the military and has previously voted for a pro-military candidate.īecause a party needs a majority of the combined houses – 750 seats – to elect a prime minister, it means opposition parties need almost three times as many votes in the lower house to be able to elect the next leader and form a government. The first thing to know is that any opposition party or coalition hoping to form a government must overcome the powerful voting bloc of the senate. Neither opposition party won an outright majority of 376 seats needed to form a government outright, they will need to strike deals and wrangle support from other parties to form a coalition big enough to ensure victory.īut that won’t necessarily be straightforward. That’s because the military junta that last seized power in 2014 rewrote the constitution to ensure they maintain a huge say in who can lead, whether or not they win the popular vote. Supporters of the Move Forward Party react as they watch results come in at the party headquarters in Bangkok on May 14, after polls closed in Thailand's general election. Sunday’s vote – which saw a record turnout – was a continuation of that tradition.īut despite winning a landslide, it is far from certain who will be the next leader. Over the last two decades, each time Thais have been allowed to vote, they have done so overwhelmingly in support of the military’s political opponents. It’s a rejection of military dominance in politics,” said Thitinan Pongsudhirak, a political scientist from Chulalongkorn University. “This is an unmistakable frontal rebuke, a rejection of Thailand’s military authoritarian past. Together they delivered a crushing blow to the conservative, military-backed establishment that has ruled on and off for decades, often by turfing out popularly elected governments in coups. Pheu Thai, the main opposition party that has been a populist force in Thailand for 20 years, came second. The progressive Move Forward Party, which gained a huge following among young Thais for its reformist platform, won the most seats and the largest share of the popular vote. Thai voters delivered a powerful message to the country’s military-backed government on Sunday: you do not have the will of the people to rule. ![]()
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